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The  Relationship  between  •  Per- 
sistence   in    School   and 
Home  Conditions* 


THESIS 

SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  THE 

DEGREE   OF   DOCTOR   OF   PHILOSOPHY   IN    EDUCATION 

IN    THE    GRADUATE    SCHOOL    OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

IQIS 


BY 


CHARLES  ELMER  HOLLEY 

A.B.  University  of  Illinois,  1912 
A.M.  University  of  Illinois,  1913 


Reprinted  from 

THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK  OF  THE  NATIONAL  SOCIETY 

FOR  THE  STUDY  OF  EDUCATION 

1916 


COPYRIGHT  igi6  BY 
GUY  M.  WHIPPLE 

All  Rights  Reserved 
Published  April  1916 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


THE  RELATIONSHIP  BETWEEN  PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL 
AND  HOME  CONDITIONS1 


CHARLES  ELMER  HOLLEY 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University 


PART  I 

INTRODUCTORY  STATEMENT 
THE  PROBLEM 

This  study  is  concerned  primarily  with  the  qualitative  analysis  of 
the  relationships  which  exist  between  the  schooling  of  children  and  their 
home  conditions.  It  is  concerned  secondarily  with  a  rough  determina- 
tion of  the  relative  importance  of  the  hereditary  and  the  environmental 
factors  involved  in  these  relationships. 

ORIGIN  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  STUDY 

The  study  is  an  outgrowth  of  a  social  survey  of  the  Decatur,  Illinois, 
high  school  made  by  the  writer  during  the  school  year  of  1912-13.  In 
making  this  survey  a  large  amount  of  data  was  secured,  most  of  which 
proved  to  be  of  relatively  little  importance,  but  among  the  many  facts 
there  were  a  few  which  suggested  family  tendencies  in  the  matter  of 
educating  children.  Some  of  the  families  gave  all  the  older  children  a 
high-school  education,  while  other  families,  of  similar  size  and  age- 
composition,  did  not  have  one  child  who  had  completed  the  high-school 
work.  All  the  families  having  two  or  more  children  no  longer  in  the 
public  school  were  selected  and  examined.  There  proved  to  be  198  such 
families,  containing  642  older  children,  334  of  whom  had  secured  a  high- 
school  education.  A  further  examination  showed  that  40  per  cent  of 
the  198  families  furnished  72  per  cent  of  those  who  had  finished  the  high 
school,  and  30  per  cent  of  the  families  furnished  57  per  cent  of  those  who 

1  This  study  was  accepted  as  the  dissertation  for  the  doctorate  of  philosophy  in 
education  by  the  Graduate  School  of  the  University  of  Illinois.  The  writer  wishes 
to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  for  counsel  and  suggestions  given  by  Dr.  W.  C. 
Bagley  and  Dr.  L.  D.  Coffman.  Further,  many  useful  suggestions  were  received 
from  Dr.  G.  M.  Whipple,  Dr.  C.  H.  Johnston,  and  the  graduate  students  in  education. 

9 


10 


-   THE  ?I*T,EENTH  YEARBOOK 


had  not  finished  the  high  school.  This  difference  suggested  that  there 
must  be  corresponding  differences  in  the  homes  which  might  be  ascer- 
tained. Data  were  secured  and  it  was  found  that  these  two  groups  of 
homes  differed  markedly  with  respect  to  economic,  educational,  and 
social  conditions. 

Three  years  ago  Dr.  J.  K.  Van  Denburg  published  the  results  of  an 
investigation  conducted  in  the  New  York  City  schools.  He  found  that 
"on  the  whole,  the  economic  status  of  these  pupils  (so  far  as  it  is  shown 
by  monthly  rental)  seems  to  be  only  a  slight  factor  in  the  determination 
of  length  of  stay  in  the  high  schools.  The  one  most  marked  influence 
seems  to  be  that  the  superior  economic  status  in  girls  leads  to  a  longer 
stay  in  spite  of  failure  to  progress  at  the  'normal'  rate."1 

At  another  place  Dr.  Van  Denburg  shows2  (Table  I)  the  percentages 
of  the  different  rental  groups3  who  graduated  from  the  high  school  which 

TABLE  I 

PERCENTAGE   GRADUATING,   CLASSIFIED   ACCORDING   TO 
RENTAL  GROUPS 


Amount 

Graduates 

Total 
Entering 

Percentage 
Graduating 

Boys 
Not  specified 

22 

$  8  to  $17  
$18  to  $27    

9 

8 

76 
34 

ii.  8 

23.5 

$28  and  up 

4 

48- 

8.3 

Girls 
Not  specified 

4.O 

$  8  to  $17      

14 

99 

14.1 

$18  to  $27  

IO 

71 

14.0 

$28  and  up 

4 

65 

6.1 

they  entered  four  years  earlier.  He,  however,  has  no  record  of  those 
who  left  the  public  schools  and  went  to  private  schools,  a  group  mentioned 
as  a  factor  of  some  importance.  Hence  the  group  "  28  and  up,"  would 

1  Causes  of  the  Elimination  of  Pupils  in  Public  Secondary  Schools  (New  York: 
Published  by  Teachers  College,  1912),  p.  113. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  134. 

3  A  rental  group  is  a  group  of  families  which  paid  specified  amounts  of  rent  per 
month.    All  the  families  selected  were  divided  by  Van  Denburg  into  three  rental 
groups:  (i)  those  paying  $8  to  $17  per  month,  (2)  those  paying  $18  to  $27  per  month, 
and  (3)  those  paying  $28  or  more  per  month. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  II 

have  to  be  augmented  by  an  unknown  quantity  to  represent  the  true 
percentage  of  those  who  received  the  equivalent  of  four  years  in  the 
public  high  school.  It  is  conceivable  that  this  unknown  quantity  would 
be  large  enough  to  show  a  definite  relationship  for  the  boys  between 
economic  status  and  persistence  in  school.  With  the  girls  the  case 
would  not  be  so  clear,  for  the  two  smaller  groups  contain  the  same 
percentage  of  graduates.  It  may  be  that  the  economic  factor  is  of  less 
importance  with  girls  than  with  boys. 

To  be  conservative,  it  might  be  said  that  the  economic  status  of  the 
families  in  Dr.  Van  Denburg's  study  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to 
overshadow  or  more  than  counteract  other  factors  which  make  for  per- 
sistence in,  or  elimination  from,  the  public  high  schools  of  New  York  City. 
He  has  shown  that  the  presence  or  absence  of  younger  children  in  the 
family,  the  nationality  of  the  parents,  choice  or  lack  of  choice  of  an 
occupation,  and  intention  with  regard  to  graduation  are  factors  corre- 
lated with  the  length  of  stay  in  the  high  school.  A  more  detailed  study 
of  home  conditions  might  reveal  other  factors  of  far  greater  influence 
in  this  city  than  economic  status. 

In  another  study1  Dr.  C.  H.  Keyes  showed  that  acceleration  or  retar- 
dation were  characteristic  of  certain  families.  He  found  that  6.8  per 
cent  of  the  families  produced  24  per  cent  of  the  accelerates,  while  7 . 7 
per  cent  of  the  families  produced  24 . 5  per  cent  of  the  arrests^  These 
facts  obtained  in  a  New  England  city  tend  to  support  those  obtained 
in  Decatur. 

The  apparent  disagreement  between  the  conditions  found  by  Dr. 
Van  Denburg  in  New  York  City  and  those  found  by  the  writer  in  Decatur, 
Illinois,  raised  the  question:  "Is  Decatur  representative  qualitatively  of 
the  average  middle  western  city?"  With  this  question  in  mind  it  was 
decided  to  extend  the  study  to  other  Illinois  cities,  and  information  was 
collected  from  the  high  schools  of  Centralia,  Champaign,  Gibson  City, 
and  Rochelle,  Illinois.  While  these  data  were  being  collected,  it  occurred 
to  the  writer  that  this  study  dealt  with  a  special  class — those  whose  chil- 
dren reached  the  high  school — and  represented  a  special  situation,  and 
hence  that  it  ought  to  be  extended  so  as  to  include  statistics  from  all 
levels  of  society.  Accordingly  the  families  residing  in  Urbana  who  had 
children  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  twenty-one  were  selected,  and 

1  C.  H.  Keyes,  Progress  through  the  Grades  of  City  Schools  (New  York:  Published 
by  Teachers  College,  1911). 


12  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

a  personal  canvass  was  made  by  the  writer  which  furnished  a  mass  o 
facts  from  234  homes.  When  these  data  had  been  tabulated  and  evalu- 
ated, and  an  interpretation  was  attempted,  it  was  found  that,  although 
important  relationships  existed  between  the  amounts  of  schooling  that 
the  children  received  and  certain  objective  home  conditions,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  distinguish  between  environmental  and  hereditary  factors,  a  dis- 
tinction that  is  very  important  from  social  and  educational  points  of 
view.  In  order  more  accurately  to  determine  the  relative  importance  of 
these  two  types  of  factors  it  was  decided  to  secure  similar  facts  about 
the  education  and  home  conditions  of  adopted  children. 

In  outline  this  presents  the  origin  and  development  of  the  study. 
The  presentation  of  the  data  will  follow  the  same  general  order. 

THE  DATA 

Sources. — The  facts  presented  in  Part  II  were  secured  from  the  high- 
school  pupils  of  Decatur,  Illinois,  during  the  fall  of  1912.  Those  in 
Part  III  were  collected  from  the  high-school  pupils  of  Centralia,  Cham- 
paign, Gibson  City,  and  Rochelle,  Illinois,  during  the  fall  of  1913.  The 
main  data,  those  in  Part  IV,  were  gathered  directly  from  the  homes  and 
from  the  courthouse  records  in  Urbana,  Illinois,  during  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1914.  The  information  about  the  adopted  children,  given  in 
Part  V,  was  secured  from  the  Urbana  courthouse  records  and  from  various 
individuals  who  resided  in  Champaign  and  Urbana  during  the  early 
months  of  1915. 

Method  of  collecting. — The  original  data  which  uncovered  the  problem 
were  secured  from  the  high-school  pupils  of  Decatur  during  the  fall  of 
1912.  One  morning  in  November  the  writer  called  at  the  school  with  a 
supply  of  blanks  asking  the  following  questions,  as  well  as  a  number  of 
others  which  had  no  bearing  on  the  present  problem: 

Name Sex Age 

Country  of  your  mother's  birthplace 

Country  of  your  father's  birthplace 

What  language  is  commonly  spoken  in  your  home  ? 

OLDER  BROTHERS 

No.  Age  Has  he  finished  What  is  he  doing  now  ? 

high  school? 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 • 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  13 


OLDER  SISTERS 


No.  Age  Has  she  finished  What  is  she  doing  now  ? 

high  school  ? 


The  teachers  were  instructed  briefly  as  to  the  facts  desired  and  the 
collection  of  data  was  then  left  in  their  hands.  The  first  period  of  the 
morning  was  used  and  each  of  the  pupils  attending  at  that  time  was 
required  to  fill  out  one  of  the  blanks.  Through  the  assistance  given  by 
the  room-charge  teachers  the  entire  high  school  furnished  the  desired 
information  in  a  short  time. 

After  it  was  discovered  that  one  group  of  homes  educated  its  children 
more  than  the  other  group,  it  was  thought  that  an  objective  description 
of  these  homes  might  be  secured  from  the  children  who  attended  high 
school.  For  this  purpose  a  blank  was  prepared  asking  for  the  following 
data: 

a)  Father's  occupation 

6)  Father's  education mother's  education 

c)  What  is  the  family  income  ? 

d)  What  rent  does  the  family  pay  per  month  (estimated  by  the  kind  of  house  in 
which  they  live)  ? 

e)  Church  affiliation  of  father of  mother 

0  What  newspapers  does  the  family  take  ? 

What  magazines  ? 

g)  What  is  the  size  of  the  family  library  ? 

h)  What  clubs  or  organizations  does  the  father  attend  ? 


The  mother  ? . 


These  blanks  were  given  to  the  pupils  from  the  selected  homes  and 
were  filled  out  hi  conference  with  the  teachers  or  principal.  The 
results  were  later  checked  up  by  the  principal,  and  reports  containing 
obvious  errors  were  marked  so  that  the  erroneous  portions  could  be 
eliminated. 

As  stated  earlier,  the  facts  reported  in  Part  III  were  secured  from  the 
high-school  pupils  of  Centralia,  Champaign,  Gibson  City,  and  Rochelle, 
Illinois.  A  blank' asking  for  the  following  information  was  used. 


14  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

Name Sex. 

1.  Country  of  mother's  birth 

2.  Country  of  father's  birth 

3.  Father's  occupation 

4.  Father's  education  (in  years  of  schooling) 

5.  pother's  education  (in  years  of  schooling) 

6.  What  monthly  rent  do  your  parents  pay  for  the  house  in  which  they  live  ?     (If 
they  own  their  home,  estimate  the  rent  by  comparing  with  rented  houses  in  the 
neighborhood.) 

7.  How  many  volumes  in  your  home  library  ? 

OLDER   BROTHERS  OLDER  SISTERS 

No.        Age  Education  in  years  No.        Age  Education  in  years 

of  schooling  of  schooling 

i i 

2 2 

3 3 

4 4 

5 5 

Copies  of  this  were  sent  to  the  principals  or  superintendents  of  Cen- 
tralia,  Gibson  City,  and  Rochelle,  and  they  secured  the  information  from 
the  pupils  as  best  they  could.  In  Gibson  City  this  method  resulted  in 
returns  from  all  the  pupils  attending  on  the  day  the  information  was 
secured.  In  Centralia  and  Rochelle  less  pressure  was  put  upon  the 
pupils  and  some  failed  to  furnish  any  information.  In  Champaign  the 
writer  gathered  the  data  during  the  English  class  periods,  personally 
directing  the  work  of  the  pupils.  By  answering  any  queries  which  arose 
because  of  a  misunderstanding  of  any  of  the  questions  and  by  suggesting 
ways  of  estimating  some  of  the  items,  he  secured  careful  replies  from 
almost  all  the  pupils.  They  were  told  that  it  was  not  necessary  for  them 
to  sign  their  names.  Hence  it  was  easy  to  meet  any  objections  which  a 
pupil  might  have  to  answering  personal  questions,  and  all  the  pupils 
rilled  out  the  blanks.  In  the  other  three  towns  the  pupils  signed  the 
blanks,  a  fact  which  made  them  a  little  more  reserved  in  their  replies. 

The  information  which  forms  the  basis  of  Part  IV  was  secured 
through  a  personal  canvass  made  by  the  writer  during  June  and  July, 
1914,  in  Urbana.  The  university-community  portion  of  the  town  is  a 
students'  residence  district  and  education  is  a  thing  uppermost  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  live  there.  It  contains  many  families  who  have 
moved  to  Urbana  to  educate  their  children.  Because  of  this  emphasis 
on  education  and  because  of  the  difficulty  of  gauging  an  economic  index 
where  there  are  so  many  temporary  residents,  all  families  who  lived  west 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  15 

of  Coler  Street  and  south  of  Springfield  Avenue  were  eliminated  from 
consideration.  The  families  of  the  university  faculty  who  lived  outside 
of  this  area  were  also  eliminated.  The  preliminary  list  of  names  was 
secured  from  the  1913  school  census  records,  which  gave  every  home 
containing  an  individual  under  twenty-one  years  of  age.  The  list  finally 
selected  was  restricted  to  those  homes  which  included  individuals  four- 
teen to  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  contained  about  550  names.  When 
the  actual  canvass  was  made,  it  was  found  that  a  few  of  these  homes 
contained  no  children  over  fourteen  (roomers  under  twenty-one  years  of 
age  having  been  found  by  the  school  census  taker  and  recorded)  and 
that  a  few  of  the  listed  families  had  moved  out  of  town.  These  two 
factors  reduced  the  list  of  possible  calls  to  slightly  less  than  500.  The 
writer  called  at  the  homes  on  all  the  east  and  west  streets  (most  homes 
in  Urbana  face  these  streets).  Sometimes  no  one  was  at  home.  When 
convenient  a  second  or  even  a  third  call  was  made  to  secure  the  desired 
information.  The  canvass  resulted  in  securing  information  from  234 
homes  of  whites  and  5  homes  of  colored  people  and  gave  a  random  sam- 
pling of  the  community.  The  colored  homes  are  not  included  in  the 
study  because  their  members  belong  to  a  race  which  is  not  as  yet  a  homo- 
geneous element  of  the  population.  Their  number  was  too  small  to  be 
studied  separately.  As  an  aid  and  guide  in  securing  the  information  the 
following  blank  was  used: 

1.  Occupation  of  father 

2.  Country  of  father's  birth of  mother's  birth 

3.  Father's  native  language mother's  native  language 

4.  Education  of  father. of  mother 

5.  Number  of  books  in  the  home 

6.  Number  of  living-rooms  in  home 

7.  Number  of  people  living  in  house  over  fourteen  years  of  age 

Under  fourteen  years  of  age 

8.  Number  of  members  of  family  living  at  home 

9.  Rent  per  month 

10.  Children  above  fourteen  years  of  age 


Sex           Age                        Years  of  schooling  each  has  received 
i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8.   . 


16  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

In  conducting  the  canvass,  the  writer,  after  introducing  himself, 
usually  began  with  an  inquiry  as  to  the  number  of  children  in  the  home, 
their  age,  and  education.  Experience  showed  that  parents  were  quite 
ready  to  talk  about  their  children  and  that,  after  getting  somewhat 
acquainted  with  the  writer,  they  were  then  more  free  in  answering  the 
other  questions.  By  this  procedure  the  facts  were  secured  to  question 
No.  10  first  and  then  the  blank  was  filled  out  in  order,  beginning  with 
question  No.  i. 

The  figures  for  the  personal  property  and  real  estate  assessments  were 
taken  from  the  courthouse  records  giving  the  assessments  for  the  1915 
taxes.  In  case  a  name  did  not  appear  here,  the  previous  year's  records 
were  examined.  In  a  few  cases  the  figures  were  obtained  in  the  latter 
way. 

The  data  which  furnish  the  basis  for  the  discussion  of  adopted  chil- 
dren, presented  in  Part  V,  were  gathered  by  the  writer  through  a  personal 
canvass.  The  original  list  of  names  was  secured  from  the  court  records 
which  gave  the  adoptions  made  in  Champaign  County  since  1871.  From 
these  records  the  sex,  date  of  birth,  date  of  adoption,  names  of  foster- 
parents  with  their  town  addresses,  the  changed  name  of  the  child,  and 
cause  of  adoption  were  secured  for  each  child.  Excluding  all  children 
who  would  not  now  be  at  least  fourteen  years  old,  the  list  contained  155 
cases  of  adoption.  The  present  addresses  of  as  many  as  possible  of  these 
foster-parents,  of  the  children,  or  of  someone  who  could  give  the  desired 
information  were  secured  from  directories  and  from  people  who  have 
long  resided  in  Champaign  or  Urbana.  That  the  results  might  be  com- 
parable with  those  presented  in  Part  IV,  only  those  parents  who  lived  in 
Champaign  or  Urbana  and  reared  the  children  there  were  included  in 
the  study. 

In  securing  these  data  a  form  quite  similar  to  that  used  in  the  earlier 
canvass  was  employed.  It  was  as  follows: 

Parents'  names 

1.  Occupation  of  father 

2.  Nativity  of  father of  mother 

3.  Schooling  of  father  (in  years) of  mother 

4.  Estimated  number  of  books  in  home 

5.  Financial  status  of  parents:  very  poor,  poor,  average,  well-to-do,  wealthy  (check). 

6.  Estimated  rent  of  home  in  which  family  lived  when  children  were  in  school 

7.  Facts  about  all  children  living  or  dead,  who  reached  fourteen  years  of  age 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  17 

Date  of  birth  Sex  Schooling  in  years 

1  ......................................................................... 

2  ......................................................................... 

3  ......................................................................... 

4  ......................................................................... 

5  ......................................................................... 

6.  .  .  ...................................................................... 

7  ......................................................................... 

8  ......................................................  .  .................. 

The  procedure  was  approximately  the  same,  after  the  list  of  names 
and  addresses  was  secured,  as  that  followed  in  gathering  the  data  for 
Part  IV.  Members  of  the  family  or  relatives  furnished  the  information 
for  all  but  one  of  the  children  studied. 

Errors.  —  The  data  secured  from  the  pupils  through  questionnaires 
which  they  themselves  filled  out  were  probably  more  inaccurate  than 
those  secured  by  the  writer  through  the  personal  canvass.  The  greatest 
constant  error  is  that  of  omission.  It  is  thought  by  the  writer  that  the 
effect  of  this  is  nearly  that  of  pure  chance,  though  this  may  be  proved 
otherwise  if  carefully  investigated.  However,  since  this  is  primarily  a 
qualitative  study,  such  errors  will  be  less  serious  than  if  it  were  a  purely 
quantitative  investigation.  Wilful  untruths  may  have  existed  in  the 
data,  but  they  were  very  rare.  From  the  nature  of  the  questions  and 
the  conditions  under  which  they  were  answered,  some  of  the  data  are 
estimates,  more  or  less  inaccurate.  Errors  peculiar  to  one  kind  of  data 
will  be  mentioned  during  its  discussion. 

Method  of  treatment.  —  The  statistical  method1  will  be  used  in  this 
study.  All  the  important  relationships  will  be  expressed  through  coeffi- 
cients of  correlation.  All  correlations  will  be  worked  according  to  the 

"product-moment"  method  of  Pearson  where  r  =  -  —  .   The  reliability 

- 


of  all  correlations  will  be  expressed  according  to  the  formula  P.E.= 
o  .  6745  -   —  .    The  reliability  of  the  difference  between  two  medians  will 


\  P  F  2     P  P 2 
be  expressed  according  to  the  formula  P.E.D.  =  \ --{ — •  — .  All  cen- 

II      HI  «2 

tral  tendencies  will  be  expressed  by  medians. 

1  All  the  formulas  used  can  be  found  in  any  standard  work  on  statistical  methods. 
See  Thoradike,  Mental  and  Social  Measurements;  or  Whipple,  Manual  of  Mental  and 
Physical  Tests,  2d  ed.,  Part  I,  "Simpler  Processes."  Whipple  gives  on  p.  35  a 
table  showing  the  reliability  of  P.E.  according  to  its  relative  size. 


PART  II 
RELATIONSHIPS  FOUND  IN  DECATUR 

The  original  data  collected  in  Decatur  during  the  fall  of  1912  revealed 
198  children  from  homes  having  two  or  more  older  children  no  longer 
in  the  public  school.  These  homes  when  examined  could  be  distributed 
readily  among  three  groups:  (I)  those  from  which  all  the  older  children 
had  completed  the  high-school  work;  (II)  those  from  which  none  of  the 
older  children  had  completed  the  high-school  work;  (III)  those  in  which 
some  of  the  older  children  had  graduated  from  the  high  school  and 
others  had  not. 

In  all  there  were  642  older  brothers  and  sisters,  334  of  whom  had 
secured  a  high-school  education.  Group  I  contained  78  families  and 
furnished  72  per  cent  of  the  334  children.  Group  II  contained  59 
families  and  furnished  57  per  cent  of  the  308  who  had  not  finished  high 
school. 

This  section  will  be  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  the  differences  between 
home  conditions  in  the  first  two  groups. 

The  replies  were  most  nearly  complete  with  respect  to  the  education 
of  the  parents,  though  a  few  children  failed  to  give  this  information. 
When  the  replies  were  checked,  it  was  found  that  some  information 
was  secured  concerning  60  homes  of  Group  I  and  43  homes  of  Group  II. 
On  some  of  the  blanks  there  was  very  little  information,  probably  because 
the  pupils,  or  even  the  parents  in  some  cases,  could  not  give  the  facts 
desired. 

RESULTS   OF  THE  INVESTIGATION 

The  differences  between  the  two  types  of  homes  are  striking. 

a)  Occupations. — The  fathers  of  Group  I  (the  families  that  gave 
their  children  a  high-school  education)  are  chiefly  engaged  in  professional 
and  commercial  occupations  (see  Table  II).    The  fathers  of  Group  II 
(the  families  that  did  not  provide  a  high-school  education  for  their 
children)  are  chiefly  engaged  in  artisan  trades,  and  in  semi-skilled  and 
unskilled  occupations  (Table  II). 

b)  Schooling. — The  median  number  of  years  of  schooling  received 
by  the  parents  of  Group  I  is  twelve;  by  the  parents  of  Group  II,  eight 

18 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


(see  Table  III).    In  Group  I,  60  per  cent  of  the  fathers  and  61  per  cent 
of  the  mothers  have  had  the  equivalent  of  a  high-school  education, 

TABLE  II 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  FATHERS 

GROUP  n 

Occupation  No. 

Farmer 6 

Retired  fanner 3 

Carpenter 3 

Minister 3 

Blacksmith 3 

Cabinet-maker 2 

Night  watchman 2 


GROUP  I 

Occupation  No. 

Farmer 8 

Lawyer 4 

Insurance 4 

Real  estate  dealer 3 

Retired  farmer 2 

Physician 2 

Public  official..  2 


Jeweler 2  >f  Janitor 2 

Cashier 2  j*  Railroad  engineer i 

Minister 2ji. Railroad  conductor 'i 


Implement  dealer i 

Druggist i 

Millwright i 

Business .  : i 

Painter  and  decorator i 

Floor-walker i 

Nurseryman i 

Mason i 

Railroader i 

Music  store i 

Brick  business i 

Bookkeeper i      Miller i 

Auto  trimmer i      Clerk i 

Proprietor,  machine-shop i      Passenger  engine  inspector i 

Hotel-keeper i 

Machinist i 

Cement  factory i 

Carpenter i 

Secretary  and  treasurer i 

Barber i 

Furnaceman i 

Railroad  engineer i. 

while  more  than  91  per  cent  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  Group  II  have 
had  less  than  four  years  of  high-school  work.    Indeed,  74  per  cent  of 


Mail  clerk 

Shoeman 

Lock-maker 

Factory  employee 

Boiler-maker 

Clothier 

Gardener 

Cement  contractor 

Commission  dealer 

Horse-dealer 

Grocer 

Miller 

Clerk 

Passenger  engine  inspector 


20 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


the  fathers  and  71  per  cent  of  the  mothers  of  Group  II  did  not  go  beyond 
the  eighth  grade.  The  mathematical  differences  between  the  medians 
of  the  two  groups,  3.68=^=0.38  years  for  fathers  and  3.70=1=0.38  years 
for  mothers,  have  a  high  degree  of  reliability. 

TABLE  III 
THE  EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS  AND  MOTHERS 


NUMBER  OF  YEARS 
OF  SCHOOLING 

GROUP  I 

GROUP  II 

Fathers 

Mothers 

Fathers 

Mothers 

2  

I 

3  

4  

5  

I 

6  

2 
2 
II 

7  

I 
24 

3 

21 

8  

12 

I 
6 

10 

5 

4 

2 

I 

4 
3 

2 

ii 

12  

is 

4 
5 

i 

3 

2 

1  2.  33  years 

16 

2 
II 

13.  . 

14  •...-. 

2 

I 

IS-  • 

16  

I 

18  

Median  years  of 
education  .... 

1  2.  34  years 

8  .  65  years 

8  .  64  years 

Difference  between   median  education  of   Groups  I  and  II, 

fathers  =  3 . 68  ^  o .  38  years 
Difference  between   median  education  of   Groups  I  and  II, 

mothers = 3 . 70  =•=  o .  38  years 


c)  Incomes  and  rent. — As  would  readily  be  inferred  from  the  facts 
concerning  occupation  and  schooling  just  presented,  the  yearly  incomes 
and  monthly  rentals  are  higher  with  those  who  sent  their  children 
through  the  high  school  than  with  the  other  group.  The  median  yearly 
income  of  Group  I  is  $2,000;  of  Group  II,  $1,350  (Table  IV).  Each 
family  studied  in  this  section  contained  at  least  three  children,  and  the 
average  is  almost  five.  Thus  it  seems  that  the  problem  of  furnish- 
ing the  necessaries  of  life  must  be  a  serious  one  for  many  families  of 
Group  II. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


21 


The  differences  between  the  rental  values  of  the  two  groups  of  homes 
are  evident  to  one  who  simply  glances  at  Table  V.  Statistically  they  are 
shown  by  the  difference  in  the  medians.  They  are  marked,  for  81  per 


TABLE  IV 

INCOMES* 


Group  I 

Group  II 

Group  I 

Group  II 

Below  $600 

2 

$1,800  to  $1,899  •  •  • 

2 

$    700  to  $    799  .  .  . 
800  to       899  ... 

I 
I 
I 

3 
3 

2 

1,900  to    1,999  -  •  • 

2,000  tO     2,099  •  •  • 
2  IOO  tO      2  199 

i 
i 

I 
I 

ooo  to    i  ooo 

3' 

2  2OO  tO     2  200 

I 

100  to    i  TOO 

I 

2  3OO  tO     2  3QQ 

2OO  tO      I  2OO 

6 

I 

2  4OO  tO     2  400 

I 

,300  to    1,399  .  .  . 

,4OO  to     1,400  .  . 

i 

I 
2 

2,500  to    2,599  •  •  • 
3,000  to    3,999  .  .  . 

3 
5 

I 

I 

CQO  to     I  SQQ 

2 

•7 

4,000  to    4,000  . 

f 

600  to    i  600 

2 

I 

5,000  and  above  .  . 

5 

,700  to    1,799  •  •  • 

I 

I 

Median  income  .  .  . 

$2,000 

$1,350 

Difference  between  medians  of  Group  I  and  II =$650  =±=$242 

*  A  number  of  families  had  such  indefinite  incomes  that  the  parents  themselves  could  not  estimate 
them. 

cent  of  the  families  in  Group  I  pay  $25  or  more  a  month  while  77  per 
cent  of  Group  II  pay  less  than  this  amount.  A  house  with  modern 
improvements,  bath,  toilet,  etc.,  large  enough  for  a  family  of  six  costs 

TABLE  V 
RENTAL  VALUES  OF  HOMES* 


Per  Month 

Group  I 

Group  II 

Per  Month 

Group  I 

Group  II 

$10 

I 

$20           

I 

II 

II        

22    SO 

I 

I 

12    

2C    . 

IO 

4* 

12      . 

2 

3O    . 

6 

14 

I 

•2  C 

2 

je 

I 

4O 

e 

I 

H  

I 

I 

(JO 

I 

17 

I 

I 

Median  rent 

$30 

$2O   80 

18 

I 

•2 

No.  who  own  their 

10 

homes   .  .    . 

14 

Differences  between  medians  of  Groups  I  and  II=$9.2o±$i.i7 

*The  question  which  asked  f9r  this  information  was  poorly  constructed.  It  was:  "What  rents 
does  the  family  pay  per  month  (estimated  by  the  kind  of  a  house  in  which  they  live)?"  Some  replied 
by  merely  stating  that  they  owned  the  home.  Others  estimated  the  rent  even  if  they  owned  the  home. 


22 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


at  least  $25  a  month  in  Decatur.    Hence  a  large  part  of  the  families 
of  Group  II  live  in  somewhat  undesirable  houses.    The  number  reported 


TABLE  VI 

NEWSPAPERS  TAKEN 


Group  I 

Group  II 

Decatur  papers 

77 

er 

Chicago  papers  

jr 

Other  local  papers  

8 

2 

as  owning  their  homes,  14  families  of  Group  I  and  9  families  of  Group  II, 
is  too  small  to  be  a  basis  for  any  significant  conclusions.1 


TABLE  VII 
MAGAZINES  TAKEN 


Group  I 

Group  II 

Ladies1  Home  Journal  

23 
13 
II 

9 

6 
6 
6 
6 
5 
4 
4 
4 
3 

2 

2 
2 

2O 

5 

I 
2 

3 

4 

2 

I 

Woman's  Home  Companion  .  . 
Saturday  Evening  Post 

Cosmopolitan              .       .... 

Pictorial  Review  

Youth's  Companion  

Good  Housekeeping 

Popular  Mechanics 

Literary  Digest  

Everybody's  

2 

4 
3 

i 
6 
3 

Religious  papers 

Collier's                       .        ... 

McClure's       

Woman's  World  

Farm  papers 

Motor  Age                   

Life  and  Judge  

Review  of  Reviews  

i 

Boys'  paper 

Home-Life         .           

Current  Events   

Success 

Travel                                .... 

d)  Home  culture. — There  is  only  a  slight  relationship  between  the 
number  of  newspapers  taken  by  a  home  and  the  schooling  and  financial 
standing  of  the  parents  (Table  VI).  Every  home  in  both  groups  took 

1  The  difference  between  the  median  rents  of  the  two  groups  is  much  more  reliable 
than  the  differences  between  median  incomes.  The  latter  is  barely  large  enough  to 
justify  statistical  consideration. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  23 

a  daily  newspaper  with  one  exception,  a  home  of  Group  I.  This  home 
took  several  magazines. 

The  two  groups  of  homes  showed  a  much  greater  difference  when  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  periodical  literature  were  examined.  Maga- 
zines of  the  better  class  were  found  in  the  homes  represented  by  Group  I, 
but  were  very  infrequently  found  in  the  homes  of  Group  II  (Table  VII). 

The  library  facilities  of  the  two  groups  of  homes  correspond  to  the 
other  characteristics  already  discussed.  The  median  number  of  books 
found  in  homes  of  Group  I  was  271;  in  Group  II,  83  (Table  VIII). 
In  other  words,  the  average  home  of  Group  I  had  more  than  three  times 
as  many  books  in  it  as  the  average  home  of  Group  II.  All  but  one  of 
the  homes  of  Group  II,  or  97  per  cent,  had  smaller  libraries  than  the 
average  home  of  Group  I. 

TABLE  VIII 

LIBRARIES 


Volumes 

Group  I 

Group  II 

Volumes 

Group  I 

Group  II 

IO 

7  OI—4OO 

7 

PT—   7? 

6 

401—  tjoo   . 

I 

76—100  

2 

5 

501  and  over  

6 

I 

IOI—  2OO  

6 

12 

Median  number  of 

2OI~3OO 

7 

I 

volumes  

271 

83 

Difference  between  medians  of  Groups  I  and  II  =188=*=  24  volumes 


e)  Clubs  and  organizations. — The  number  of  clubs  and  organizations 
attended  by  the  fathers  of  Group  I  was  larger  than  the  number  attended 
by  the  fathers  of  the  other  group  (Table  IX).  The  fathers  of  Group  I 
were  more  often  members  of  those  social  and  recreational  societies  which 
are  somewhat  of  an  economic  burden.  Among  the  mothers  the  only 
important  difference  to  be  noted  is  that  the  mothers  in  Group  I  attended 
the  "women's  clubs"  while  mothers  in  Group  II  attended  the  "mothers' 
club"  of  the  public  school. 

/)  Religious  affiliations. — The  differences  which  appeared  between 
the  two  groups  with  respect  to  this  point  (Table  X)  were  not  significant 
in  their  bearing  upon  persistence  in  school.  A  more  extended  study 
might  reveal  important  facts  which  did  not  appear  in  the  small  number 
of  cases  secured  in  this  study. 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


TABLE  IX 
CLUBS  AND  ORGANIZATIONS  ATTENDED  BY  THE  FATHERS  AND  MOTHERS 


FAT] 

3ERS 

Mor 

HERS 

Group  I 

Group  II 

Group  I 

Group  II 

Masons  

17 

Woodmen  

M 

4" 

Oddfellows  

8 

q 

Social  or  recreational  

8 

I 

Knights  of  Pythias  

i            5 

2 

Professional 

Moose  

2 

I 

Chamber  of  Commerce  

I 

Knights  of  Columbus  

I 

I 

Trade  union  

I 

6 

Owls  

G.A.R  

Rebecca 

j 

Royal  Neighbors 

5 

5 

Church  societies  
Court  of  Honor  

I 
I 

2 

12 
I 

-       8 

j 

Ben  Hur  

2 

Yeomen.  

I 

I 

I 

Women's  clubs 

g 

j 

Eastern  Star 

2 

King's  Daughters  

I 

Mothers'  club  

I 

6 

Y.W.C.A 

I 

W.C.T.U 

I  ^ 

i 

« 

TABLE  X 
CHURCH  AFFILIATIONS  OF  FATHERS  AND  MOTHERS 


FATHERS 

MOTHERS 

Group  I 

Group  II 

Group  I 

Group  II 

Methodist  Episcopal 

IS 
II 

s 

3 
3 
3 

2 

I 
I 

I 
I 

17 

12 

6 
3 
3 

2 

3 
3 

i 
i 
i 
i 

6 

2 

4 

2 

I 

6 
3 

2 

8 
3 
4 

2 
2 

7 
4 

i 

Presbyterian  

Christian  

Congregational  

United  Brethren  
Baptist  

Lutheran 

Catholic  

Free  Methodist  

German  Methodist  
Episcopal  ..  . 

I 

i 

Christian  Science.  .  .  . 

African  Methodist  

I 
I 

I 

i 
i 
i 
i 

Church  of  God 

Unitarian  

Protestant 

PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  25 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

Seventy-eight  families,  40  per  cent  of  those  which  had  two  or  more 
older  children  no  longer  in  the  public  school,  furnish  72  per  cent  of  the 
334  high-school  graduates. 

Fifty-nine  families,  30  per  cent  of  those  studied,  furnished  57  per  cent 
of  those  who  did  not  finish  high  school. 

As  a  class,  the  parents  of  the  first  group  were  better  educated,  were 
employed  in  different  occupations,  received  larger  incomes,  paid  more 
rent  per  month  or  lived  in  better  homes,  took  a  greater  number  and  a 
better  type  of  magazines  and  newspapers,  had  larger  libraries,  and 
attended  a  different  type  of  clubs,  organizations,  and  churches  than  the 
parents  of  the  group  of  families  none  of  whose  older  children  finished 
high  school. 

There  was,  in  Decatur,  Illinois,  a  decided  relationship  between 
advantages  of  home  conditions  and  the  amounts  of  schooling  which 
children  received. 


PART  III 

RELATIONSHIPS  FOUND  IN  CENTRALIA,  CHAMPAIGN, 
GIBSON  CITY,  AND  ROCHELLE 

This  section  is  based  on  the  data  secured  from  the  high-school  pupils 
of  Centralia,  Champaign,  Gibson  City,  and  Rochelle.  Only  the  replies 
of  those  pupils  who  reported  older  brothers  or  sisters  no  longer  in  school 
were  used.  This  selection  reduced  the  total  number  of  homes  studied  to 
318.  An  appreciable  number  of  the  blanks  failed  to  give  all  the  informa- 
tion desired.  A  blank  might  omit  the  schooling  of  the  father  or  mother, 
the  rental  estimate,  the  number  of  books  in  the  home,  or  the  schooling 
or  sex  of  the  older  children.  In  such  a  case  it  was  not  rejected,  but 
the  available  information  which  it  contained  was  utilized.  Conse- 
quently the  numbers  given  in  the  various  tables  differ.  Thirty-three 
pupils  failed  to  give  estimates  of  the  schooling  of  their  parents,  99  gave 
no  estimate  of  the  monthly  rental,  and  1 1 1  did  not  report  the  number  of 
books  in  the  home. 

The  ratio  of  the  number  of  homes  included  in  this  study  to  the  total 
population  is  not  the  same  for  each  of  the  four  towns.  It  varies  rather 
widely.  Centralia  is  represented  by  the  smallest  number  of  homes,  37, 
though  it  is  three-fourths  the  size  of  Champaign,  which  has  the  largest 
number,  149.  Gibson  City  and  Rochelle  are  both  small  places  but  are 

well  represented. 

TABLE  XI 

POPULATION  AND  HOMES  STUDIED 


Population 
(1910  Census) 

No.  of  Homes 
Studied 

Centralia                  

0,68o 

37 

Champaign 

12  421 

I4-O 

Gibson  City                      .... 

2,086 

67 

Rochelle                

2,732 

65 

These  towns  are  situated  in  four  sections  of  the  state,  south-central, 
central,  east-central,  and  northern.  It  is  thought  by  the  writer  that  as  a 
group  they  are  representative  qualitatively  of  towns  of  similar  size 
in  this  state  and  probably  are  representative  of  this  section  of  the 

26 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


27 


United  States.  This  fact,  however,  must  remain  a  matter  of  opinion 
until  it  has  been  demonstrated  by  similar  studies  of  other  towns. 

When  an  attempt  was  made  to  present  the  relationships  separately 
for  each  town,  it  was  found  that  the  chance  variations  present  exerted 
so  great  an  influence  that  relationships  were  frequently  obscured  or 
exaggerated.  Hence  it  was  decided  to  give  only  the  combined  data  for 
the  four  towns. 

This  section  considers  only  families  which  had  a  child  in  one  of  the 
four  high  schools  at  the  time  the  data  were  secured.  It  does  not  touch 
the  larger  group  whose  children  never  go  beyond  the  eighth  grade. 
This  sort  of  sampling  necessarily  provides  a  select  class,  and  the  results 
presented  here  must  not  be  interpreted  in  any  other  light. 

RESULTS 

The  facts  toward  which  attention  will  be  directed  are  relationships 
as  expressed  by  coefficients  of  correlation.  Although  the  data  disclose 

TABLE  XII 

CORRELATION  OF  EDUCATION  OF  PARENTS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  SONS  IN  CENTRALIA, 
CHAMPAIGN,  GIBSON  CITY,  AND  ROCHELLE 


Years  of  Schooling  of 

Av< 

stage  ^ 

rears  o 

f  Scho 

oling  < 

>f  Pare 

nts 

Sons 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Q 

10 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

2O.  

I 

IQ.  . 

18  

I 

2 

I 

I 

17  

I 

16  

2 

2 

2 

2 

I 

•2 

I 

if,. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

j 

14  

I 

I 

13.  . 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

j 

12  

I 

I 

c 

18 

7~ 

IO 

2 

7 

5" 

5" 

I 

j 

II  

2 

2 

A 

IO 

3 

2 

4" 

I 

IO 

2 

IO 

8 

I 

j 

*y 

•r-l 

j 

g 

I 

7 

2 

IO 

*8 

2 

i 

2 

2 

7  

? 

2 

2 

8 

2 

I 

I 

6  

I 

5  

4  

I 

Median  education  of  sons,  10  years 


28 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


a  number  of  others,  only  those  existing  between  the  schooling  of  the 
children  and  the  schooling  of  the  parents,  rental  values  of  the  home,  and 
number  of  books  in  the  home  will  be  presented. 

a)  Schooling  of  parents. — It  will  be  noticed  when  the  tables  are 
examined  that  there  is  a  marked  concentration  of  cases  at  that  point 
on  the  scale  of  the  schooling  of  parents  which  marks  the  end  of  the 
grammar  school.  With  the  children  there  are  two  such  points,  one  at 

TABLE  XIII 

CORRELATION  OF  EDUCATION  OF  PARENTS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  DAUGHTERS  IN 
CENTRALIA,  CHAMPAIGN,  GIBSON  CITY,  AND  ROCHELLE 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

IQ 

i 

17 

I 

2 

4 
2 

7 

i 

2 

I 

5 

i 

2 
2 
2 
5 

5 

2 

3 

i 

16  

I 

I 

2 

I 

3 
24 
10 
ii 
9 
35 
5 

I 
I 

3 

5 
10 

2 

3 
3 
5 

i 

2 
I 

5 
4 
4 

i 
i 

4 

i 

i 

2 
2 

I 

2 

I 

2 

i 
2 

!<:  .  . 

I 

14. 

2 

13 

2 

I 

6 

12 

I 

3 

i 

4 

4 

i 

5 
5 
ii 

3 

3 

.... 

II              

10  

i 

.... 

4 

9- 

8 

I 

3 

i 

i 

I 

i 

I 

6       

5" 

i 

n  =290 

Median  education  of  daughters,  ii  years 


the  end  of  the  grammar  school  and  the  other  at  the  end  of  high  school, 
with  possibly  a  third  at  the  end  of  college.  Such  concentrations  disturb 
the  curve  of  distribution  and  modify  conditions  somewhat.  The  rela- 
tionships between  the  schooling  of  the  children  and  the  schooling  of  the 
parents  are  approximately  the  same  for  both  sons  and  daughters,  0.43=*= 
0.03  for  the  former  (Table  XII)  and  0.42=1=0.03  for  the  latter  (Table 
XIII). 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


29 


b)  Schooling  of  foreign-born  parents. — Out  of  the  total  number  of 
homes,  318,  29  had  foreign-born  parents  and  35,  one  foreign-born  and 
one  native-born  (Table  XIV).  The  number  of  homes  where  both  of 


TABLE  XIV 

PARENTAGE— NUMBER  OF  FAMILIES 


Both  Parents 
Foreign  Born 

One  Parent 
Foreign  Born 

Both  Parents 
Native  Born 

Centralia  

4 

2 

31 

Champaign  

7 

17 

125 

Gibson  City  

IO 

8 

49 

Rochelle 

8 

8 

40 

Total 

2Q 

7C 

2^4 

the  parents  were  foreign  born  is  too  small  to  furnish  any  reliable  coeffi- 
cients of  relationship. 

Only  a  few  of  the  foreign-born  parents  have  had  more  than  a  common- 
school  training,  while  the  children  have  done  a  little  better.    It  must  be 


>N^*S 


TABLE  XV 


CORRELATION  OF  SCHOOLING  OF  FOREIGN-BORN  PARENTS 
AND  SCHOOLING  OF  THEIR  SONS 


Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 


Years  of  School- 

ing of  Sons 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

jr 

I 

14.    . 

T2 

12 

2 

4 

XI 

I 

2 

IO 

I 

2 

i 

o 

2 

I 

8 

r 

7. 

•z 

6 

I 

remembered  in  reading  Tables  XV  and  XVI  that  parents  are  duplicated 
where  more  than  one  older  child  no  longer  in  school  was  in  the  family. 
Hence,  although  five  boys  and  six  girls  came  from  homes  where  the 
average  schooling  of  the  parents  was  ten  years,  they  came  from  four 


30  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

families,  while  two  homes  furnished  the  nine  children  who  came  from 
homes  where  the  average  schooling  of  the  parents  was  five  years. 

TABLE  XVI 

CORRELATION  OF  SCHOOLING  OF  FOREIGN-BORN  PARENTS 
AND  SCHOOLING  OF  THEIR  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of  School- 
ing of  Daughters 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

S 

6 

7 

8 

0 

IO 

15  

I 

14  

I 

13  

12 

2 

I 

3 

2 

II  

IO  

I 

I 

i 

i 

8  

3 

3 

2 

5 
4 

2 

3 

7  

6  

c)  Schooling  of  farm  parents.1 — Two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  of 
the  children  reported  the  occupations  of  their  fathers  (Table  XVII). 
Of  this  total,  76,  or  about  25  per  cent,  were  engaged  in  farming.  This 

TABLE  XVII 
RATIO  OF  RURAL  TO  OTHER  OCCUPATIONS 


Fanners 

Other 
Occupations 

Centralia  

4 

-i-i 

Champaign  

17 

116 

Gibson  City 

26 

18 

Rochelle 

20 

16 

Total 

76 

223 

number  provided  a  group  large  enough  to  be  fairly  representative.  In 
this  group  84  sons  and  61  daughters  were  reported  as  being  no  longer  in 
school.  The  relationships  between  the  schooling  of  these  children  and 


1  Some  of  these  parents  may  reside  in  town,  though  they  consider  themselves 
farmers. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  31 

the  average  schooling  of  their  parents  are  0.35 ±0.06  for  the  boys 
(Table  XVIII)  and  0.4?  =*=  0.07  for  the  girls  (Table  XIX). 

TABLE  XVIII 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  FARM  PARENTS  AND 
EDUCATION  OF  THEIR  SONS 


Years  of 
Schooling 
of  Sons 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 

16 

I 

I 
2 

I  e 

I 

AJ  

I 

I 

12  

2 

2 

I 

6 
15 
4 

2 
2 

4 

I 
2 
2 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I  1 

IO 

I 

3 

2 

I 

4 

2 

I 

I 

Q 

I 

5 

r  =o.35=«=o.o6 

«  =84  , 

Median  education  of  sons,  9  years 


TABLE  XIX 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  FARM  PARENTS  AND 
EDUCATION  OF  THEIR  DAUGHTERS 


Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 


Daughters 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

1C 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

13 

2 

I 

I 

I 

12             

7 

2 

II           

2 

I 

IO 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

8 

I 

2 

12 

•7 

I 

7 

2 

7 

r  =0.47^0.07 

n  =61 

Median  education  of  daughters,  9  years 


32  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

d)  Schooling  of  town  parents. — The  fathers  who  were  engaged  in 
occupations  other  than  farming  had  232  sons  and  229  daughters  no 
longer  in  school  (Tables  XX,  XXI).  The  correlations  between  the 

TABLE  XX 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  TOWN  PARENTS  AND 
EDUCATION  OF  THEIR  SONS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

0 

IO 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

20  

I 

IQ  

18  

I 

2 

i 

i 

17  

i 

16  

I 

4 
4 
i 
16 
9 

12 

7 
23 
4 
i 

2 

I 
I 
I 

5 

2 

3 

2 

2 

I 

3 

i 

.... 

i 

I 

15  

I 

I 

14  

I 

"s 

3 
4 

2 

3 

i 
i 

2 

4 
3 

5 

i 

3 

2 

6 
3 

i*.  . 

4 

i 

5 

i 

I 
I 

12 

I 
2 

I 

2 
2 

3 

4 
3 

4 
8 

2 

II 

IO  

i 

I 

i 

g 

2 

3 

2 
2 

2 

2 

I 

7  

6.  .      . 

e.  . 

4  

i 

r  =0.30=1=0.04 

n  =232 

Median  education  of  sons,  11  years 


schooling  of  these  children  and  the  average  schooling  of  their  parents 
are  0.30=^=0.04  for  the  sons  and  0.35=^=0.04  for  the  daughters. 

e)  Sex  relationships. — No  important  sex  differences  were  found. 
The  correlation  between  fathers  and  sons  in  the  matter  of  years  of 
schooling  received  is  practically  identical  with  that  between  the  mothers 
and  daughters.  The  former  is  0.44=^=0.03  (Table  XXII);  the  latter, 
0.43=1=0.03  (Table  XXIII).1 

1  Some  of  the  children  reported  the  schooling  of  but  one  parent.  Hence  the 
total  figures  given  in  Tables  XXII  and  XXIII  are  slightly  larger  than  those  in  Tables 
XII  and  XIII. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 

TABLE  XXI 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  TOWN  PARENTS  AND 
EDUCATION  OF  THEIR  DAUGHTERS 


33 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

IQ 

i 

18 

17 

I 

I 

I 

16     

I 

I 
I 

I 
I 

3 
4 
8 

i 

2 
2 
2 

I 

2 

2 
2 

2 

4 

2 

I 

2 

I 

ir 

I 

14    . 

2 
2 

3 

I 

4 

3 

I 

7 

i 
i 
i 
4 

I 

4 
5 

2 

3 

s 

4 
4 

i 
i 

i 
i 

2 
2 

I 

2 

13    . 

4 
i 

2 
2 
8 

I 

I 

17 
8 

9 

8 

23 

2 

I 

6 

12    

I 

3 

.... 

II 

IO 

i 

.... 

4 

g 

I 

i 

i 

I 

7 

I 

i 

6            

I 



f  =0.35=^0.04 

n  =229 

Median  education  of  daughters,  12  years 


TABLE  XXII 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS  AND  EDUCATION 
OF  THEIR  SONS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Years  of  Schooling  of  Fathers 

0 

3 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

17 

18 

2O  

I 

19  

!8  

I 

I 

17  

T 

16  

A 

I 

2 

2 

I 

1C.  . 

I 

5' 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

14  

6 

I 

3 

? 

2 

I 

13.  

? 

I 

12                    

2 

I 

3 

i 
6 

2 

3 

4 

i 

3 
5 
3 

28 

12 
24 

18 
48 
6 

i 

2 
2 
2 

I 
2 
2 

2 

I 

5 
3 

2 
2 

16 
6 

4 

... 

2 

I 

2 

I 

5 

I 

11  

I 

T 

2 

IO  

I 

I 

I 

S 

I 

I 

i 

7 

I 

8  

I 

J 

7  

2 

2 

6  

5-  . 

4  

i 

317 


34 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


/)  Rent. — It  may  be  rather  unfair  to  combine  the  figures  for  the  four 
towns,  because  rental  values  vary  from  town  to  town  for  approximately 
the  same  accommodations.  Such  variations  tend  to  reduce  the  figures 

TABLE  XXIII 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS  AND  EDUCATION 
OF  THEIR  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Years  of  Schooling  of  Mothers 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

IO.  . 

I 

18  

17 

I 

i 
6 

I 

6 
i 

16     

7 

.... 

I 
2 

.... 

3 

ie    . 

3 
4 
6 
27 

13 
16 

13 
44 
6 

I 
I 
I 

3 

i 

2 

14 

2 

I 

I 

2 
2 
12 

I 
2 

2 

4 

2 
2 

8 
9 

12 

3 
5 

2 
2 
3 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

2 

3 

13 

12                      

I 

2 

3 

i 

3 

i 

5 

i 

II              

10  

I 

I 
2 
2 
3 

I 

I 

8 

4 

4 

i 

2 

2 

I 

7 

6                  .    .. 

A 

I 

of  relationship  obtained,  though  perhaps  not  as  much  as  might  be 
expected.  There  is  probably  a  positive  correlation  between  rental 
values  and  the  opportunities  for  education  offered  by  a  community.  If 
such  be  the  case,  it  must  counteract  the  effects  of  the  variations. 

TABLE  XXIV 
OWNERS  AND  RENTERS 


Owners 

Renters 

Ccntralia                             .  . 

2C 

•2 

Champaign            

85 

21 

Gibson  City     

45 

IO 

Rochelle 

17 

7 

Total  

172 

41 

PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


35 


Only  41  out  of  the  213  families  which  gave  the  information  pay 
rent  (Table  XXIV).  Since  the  pupils  were  requested  to  estimate  the 
rental  values  of  their  homes  when  their  parents  owned  them,  most 
of  the  rental  values  are  estimates.  This  fact  introduces  a  certain  amount 
of  unreliability  into  the  data  which  would  tend  to  reduce  the  correlation 
figures  below  their  probable  values.  Even  if  such  be  the  case,  the  corre- 
lation coefficients  are  large  enough  to  indicate  a  clear  relationship 

TABLE  XXV 

CORRELATION  OF  RENTAL  VALUES*  AND  EDUCATION  OF  SONS 


Years  of  School- 
ing of  Sons 

Rent  of  Home  per  Month,  Dolkrs 

IO 

IS 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

65 

70 

75 

2O 

I 

18 

2 

2 

I 

17 

I 

16 

I 

I 

I 
I 

2 

3 

2 

3 

i 

I 

ie 

2 

I 

1A. 

j 

I 

4 

i 

2 

2 

I? 

I 

I 

I 

12                  ... 

2 

5 

6 
7 
13 
4 

8 
7 
3 
4 
13 
4 

9 

5 
4 
3 
ii 

i 

6 

2 
2 

4 

7 
4 
3 

i 

2 

9 

i 

i 

2 

2 

I 
I 

4 

i 

3 

4 

i 

I 

I  j 

IO 

3 
8 

2 

•2 

g 

6 

I 

r  =0.40= 
n  =241 


=0.04 


*  The  rental  values  were  grouped  as  follows:  The  $10  group  includes  all  living  in  homes  worth  $10 
or  less  per  month,  the  $15  group  includes  all  values  between  $11  and  $15,  etc. 

(Tables,  XXV,  XXVI).  The  correlation  between  rental  values  and 
schooling  of  sons  is  0.40=^0.04  and  between  rental  values  and  schooling 
of  daughters  it  is  o.  24=^0.04.  These  families  were  a  select  group  from 
which  those  children  who  never  reached  high  school  had  been  eliminated. 
Where  are  those  families  located  in  rental  distribution  whose  children 
never  went  beyond  the  elementary  school?  An  answer  will  be  sug- 
gested by  Part  IV. 


36  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

g)  Number  of  books  in  the  home. — The  pupils  found  it  more  difficult 
to  estimate  the  number  of  books  in  the  home  than  to  estimate  the  rental 

TABLE  XXVI 
CORRELATION  OF  RENTAL  VALUES  AND  EDUCATION  OF  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of 
Schooling  of 
Daughters 

Rent  of  Home  per  Month,  Dollars 

10 

IS 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

So 

55 

60 

65 

70 

75 

80 

85 

90 

95 

100 

17  

a 

16  

T 

2 

I 

3 

i 

5 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

1C.  . 

I 

i 

14  

I 
I 

7 

3 
3 

10 

4 
5 
5 
ii 

3 

4 

i 
8 
4 
8 

i 

9 

i 

i 
4 
9 

2 

5 

2 

4 

4 

i 

I 

I 

' 

13-  . 

4 
7 

i 

2 

4 
6 

i 

I 

2 

I 

12  

I 

I 

II  

I 

I 

I 

JO  

5 

i 
10 

i 

i 

2 

4 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

I 

i 
ii 

I 

g 

4 

2 

I 

7 

6 

i 

4. 

r  =o. 24=1=0.04 
n  =219 


values  of  the  home.  The  best  showing  was  made  by  Champaign,  where 
the  data  were  furnished  by  the  pupils  while  under  the  direct  supervision 
of  the  writer  (Table  XXVII).  Here  the  pupils  were  urged  to  estimate 

TABLE  XXVII 
NUMBER  WHO  ESTIMATED  THE  BOOKS  IN  THE  HOME 

Centralia 18 

Champaign 108 

Gibson  City 46 

Rochelle 42 

and  were  told  that  a  rough  estimate  was  better  than  none.  As  an  aid 
in  estimating  it  was  suggested  that  a  shelf  three  feet  long  held  about 
twenty-five  ordinary  books.  Chance  remarks  dropped  by  some  of  the 
pupils  later  disclosed  the  fact  that  some  who  had  many  books  in  their 
homes  made  rather  wild  estimates.  In  every  case  reported  to  the  writer, 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


37 


TABLE  XXVIII 

CORRELATION  OF  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  THE  HOME  AND  THE  SCHOOLING  OF  SONS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Number  of  Books  in  Home 

10 

25 

SO 

75 

100 

ISO 

2OO 

250 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

I 

18 

3 

c 

I 
I 

i 

17 

16 

I 

I 

2 

I 

2 

I  £ 

I 

I 

2 

2 

I 

I 

i 
i 

14.  . 

2 

2 

3 

I 

.... 

I 

•  I 

12 

2 

5 
3 
13 
6 
8 
3 

2 
2 

10 

3 
6 

3 
13 

2 

7 

2 
I 
2 

6 

2 

3 

2 

3 

2 

4 
4 

2 
2 

I 

6 

i 

2 

I 
2 

4 

i 

s 

I 
I 

.... 

i 

II 

2 

e 

I 

TO 

5 
7 

2 

2 

5 

i 

g 

2 

3 

i 

6 

I 

I 

r  =0.39=1=0.04 
n  =227' 


TABLE  XXIX 
CORRELATION  OF  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOME  AND  THE  SCHOOLING  OF  DAUGHTERS 


Number  of  Books  in  Home 


of  Daughters 

IO 

25 

5° 

75 

100 

ISO 

200 

250 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

17 

I 

16 

I 

•2 

7 

•2 

2 

2 

ie 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

I 

2 

4 

2 

2 

I 

2 

13 

I 

i 

2 

I 

2 

12           

2 

2 

8 

c 

2 

I 

e 

4 

II              

2 

i 

4 

e 

I 

IO 

I 

I 

I 

5" 

2 

I 

I 

2 

2 

I 

2 

2 

2 

I 

8 

IO 

2 

6 

1 

I 

2 

4" 

I 

7 

I 

e 

2 

I 

6 

e 

I 

r  =o.i8=*=o.o4 
n  =209 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


however,  the  estimates  were  low,  never  high.    Those  who  had  few  books 
in  their  homes  made  comparatively  accurate  estimates. 

The  four  towns  were  represented  by  214  homes  containing  227  sons 
and  209  daughters.  The  coefficient  of  correlation  between  the  number 
of  books  in  the  home  and  the  schooling  of  the  sons  is  0.39=1=0.04  (Table 
XXVIII),  while  the  like  relationship  for  the  daughters  is  0.18=1=0.04 
(Table  XXIX). 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

The  coefficients  of  correlation  presented  in  this  section  are  summed 

up  in  Table  XXX. 

TABLE  XXX 


Correlated  With 

Schooling  of 
Sons 

Schooling  of 
Daughters 

Average  schooling  of  parents  

O.43  =±=0.03 

o.42=*=o  03 

Average  schooling  of  farm  parents.  .  .  . 
Average  schooling  of  town  parents.  .  .  . 
Schooling  of  father  
Schooling  of  mother  

o.ss^o.od 
0.30=^=0.04 
0.49=1=0.03 

0.47^0.07 
0.35^0.04 

O^^^O.O* 

Rental  values  

o  .  40  ^=  o  .  04 

o  .  24  =*=  o  .  04 

Number  of  books  in  the  home  

0  .  3Q  =*=  O  .  O4 

o.i8=±=o.o4 

These  statistics  show  in  a  general  way  the  existence  of  definite  rela- 
tionships between  the  home  conditions  of  parents  of  high-school  pupils 
and  the  amounts  of  schooling  which  the  children  receive. 

This  part  supports  the  general  conclusions  arrived  at  in  the  Decatur 
study. 


PART  IV 

PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  IN  URBANA 

The  data  presented  in  Part  IV  were  secured  through  the  personal 
canvass  made  by  the  writer.  Only  the  facts  collected  from  the  homes 
of  whites,  234  in  number,  are  used.  Some  of  these  homes  had  no  chil- 
dren who  had  completed  their  education.  Such  homes  will  not  be 
considered  where  relationships  between  schooling  and  various  home 
conditions  are  presented.  Where  the  facts  are  such  that  it  makes  no 
difference  whether  the  children  have  completed  their  education  or  not, 
the  entire  group  of  234  homes  will  be  used.  Any  special  selection  of 
homes  made  will  be  mentioned  when  the  facts  are  discussed. 

The  method  followed  in  securing  the  material  presented  in  Part  IV 
is  open  to  the  criticism  that,  since  the  canvasser  knew  what  he  was  seek- 
ing, some  of  the  items  may  have  been  more  or  less  unconsciously  weighted. 
Personally,  the  writer  thinks  that  this  criticism  need  not  be  taken  seri- 
ously. Throughout  the  canvass  the  writer  kept  as  scientific  an  attitude 
as  possible  and  faithfully  recorded  all  answers  even  though  they  failed 
to  fit  his  preconceived  ideas.  As  a  means  of  observing  this  open- 
mindedness  the  facts  given  in  Part  IV  were  collected  before  those  pre- 
sented in  Part  III  had  been  evaluated. 

Urbana  is  composed  of  a  rather  homogeneous  population.  In  the 
few  homes  which  have  foreign-born  parents  all  speak  the  English  lan- 
guage. Out  of  the  total  number  of  homes  there  were  only  five  in  which 
both  parents  were  foreign  born.  These  were  people  of  German  ancestry. 
Only  23  fathers  and  8  mothers  were  born  outside  the  United  States 
(Table  XXXI).  A  few  of  the  parents  born  in  this  country  came  from 
homes  in  which  only  a  foreign  language  was  spoken  (Table  XXXII). 

SECTION  I.      SCHOOLING  OF  PARENTS  AND  CHILDREN 

The  relationships  existing  between  the  education,  as  measured  by 
years  of  schooling,  of  parents  and  children  will  be  the  theme  of  this  sec- 
tion. In  the  main  the  data  are  approximations,  estimates  of  all  of  the 
members  of  a  family  fourteen  years  of  age  or  older  given  by  some  member 
of  each  family.  The  age  fourteen  was  taken  as  the  minimum  because 

39 


40  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

the  compulsory  education  law  operates  until  this  age  is  reached,  and  those 
under  fourteen  have  not  legally  completed  their  education.  The  local 
public-school  system  was  used  as  a  standard  for  comparison  and  all 
estimates  were  made  by  comparisons  with  it.  An  appreciable  number  of 
these  people  were  educated  in  other  schools — some  in  schools  of  other 
states.  This  fact  introduces  a  small  degree  of  unreliability.  The 
writer  feels,  however,  that,  if  the  true  amounts  of  schooling  of  these  indi- 
viduals could  be  ascertained,  they  would  not  vary  from  the  amounts 
given  here  by  more  than  a  year  or  two,  except  in  possibly  five  or  ten 


TABLE  XXXI 


TABLE  XXXII 


BIRTHPLACE  OF 

Fathers 

Mothers 

United  States  
Germany  
England        

211 

9 
4 
44 
3 

2 

I 

33 

226 

6 

I 

Canada 

Ireland              .... 

Sweden             .... 

Scotland       

I 

8 

Total  foreign-born. 

LANGUAGE  COMMONLY 
SPOKEN  BY  PARENTS  OF 

Fathers 

Mothers 

English  
German  
Scotch  

2IQ 

12 

I 

I 

223 
10 

I 

Swedish  

Norwegian  

I 

cases  where  it  was  impossible  to  do  more  than  estimate  roughly  the  edu- 
cation of  the  individuals  concerned.  Such  cases  were  those  of  dead 
parents  and  families  where  the  father  had  deserted  the  home.  In  nearly 
all  cases  where  there  was  any  doubt,  the  amount  listed  is  probably  an 
overestimation  instead  of  an  underestimation.  It  was  more  difficult  to 
estimate  the  education  of  those  who  had  never  gone  beyond  the  ele- 
mentary school. 

The  educational  level  of  a  home,  however,  is  probably  a  rather  con- 
stant factor,  changing  but  little  after  the  parents  have  started  to  rear 
their  children. 


RELATIONSHIPS   BETWEEN  PARENTS  AS   TO   NUMBER  OF   YEARS   OF   SCHOOLING 

Fathers  and  mothers  are  much  alike  with  reference  to  the  number  of 
years  of  schooling  they  have  received.  Mothers  as  a  group  are  slightly 
less  variable  in  the  matter  of  education  than  fathers  (Fig.  i).  The  mode 
and  the  median  fall  at  eight  years  for  both  mothers  and  fathers.  The 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  41 

last  two  years  of  the  elementary  school  is  where  a  large  number  of  parents 
finished  their  schooling,  probably  because  many  of  them  were  reared  in 
the  country,  and  rural  schools  did  not  extend  beyond  the  eighth  grade. 
Since  the  high  school  constitutes  another  division  of  the  school,  we  again 


.02  4  6  8  10         12          14          16  18          20 

FIG.  i. — Education  of  Urbana  Fathers  and  Mothers:  Years  of  Schooling 

find,  what  common-sense  has  already  taught  us,  that  the  end  of  the  high 
school  was  also  a  stopping-place  for  a  large  number.  Only  a  small  num- 
ber of  people  went  to  a  college  or  university.  This  is  somewhat  sur- 
prising, until  an  explanation  is  sought,  for  Urbana  has  been  the  seat  of 


42  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

the  state  university  since  its  foundation  in  1869.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  university  work  until  quite  recently  did  little  except  prepare  for  the 
professions,  this  scarcity  of  college  people  seems  more  natural.  Further, 

TABLE  XXXIII 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Fathers 

Years  of  Schooling  of  Mothers 

o 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

I 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

is 

2O  

19  

I 

18  

i 

17  

I 

16  

15  

I 

I 

I 

I 

14  

I 

I 

•a 

i 

13,  

I 

I 

12  

I 

I 

I 

6 

7 

5 
3 

2 
10 

I 

9 

i 

I 
2 

12 

I 

5 

i 

3 

... 

II  

10 

I 

I 

I 
I 
15 

7 

2 

3 

3I 

2 

I 
2 

4 
5 

8  

I 

I 
3 
9 

2 

2 

3 

i 

7  

2 

6 

4 

i 

2 

3 

2 

2 

2 

t 

A 

•2      , 

I 

I 

2 

2  

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I  

o 

I 

I 

r  =o.  65=1=0. 03 

n  =231 

Median  education  of  fathers  and  mothers,  both  8  years 


many  of  these  professional  people  have  been  eliminated  through  the 
rejection  of  data  from  the  university  residence  district.  The  correla- 
tion1 between  the  schooling  of  the  father  and  the  schooling  of  the  mother 
is  high,  being  0.65=^0.03  (Table  XXXIII). 

1  It  might  be  well  to  explain,  at  this  point,  what  is  meant  by  a  coefficient  of  corre- 
lation. Coefficients  of  correlation  are  measures  of  resemblance  between  quantities 
found  coexisting  under  varying  conditions.  There  may  be  complete  correspondence, 
+i . oo  (the  +  sign  is  omitted  in  this  study),  or  the  exact  opposite,  —  i . oo.  Usually, 
however,  the  measures  secured  contain  chance  errors  and  a  correlation  of  i.oo, 
positive  (or  negative),  is  almost  never  obtained.  A  coefficient  of  0.60  or  more,  in 
this  study,  indicates  a  high  degree  of  correspondence  and  becomes  quite  significant. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 

RELATIONSHIPS  BETWEEN  PARENTS   AND  CHILDREN 


43 


i.  Fathers  and  sons. — The  curve  (Fig.  3)  of  this  relationship  looks  as 
if  some  factor  such  as  the  compulsory  education  law  had  modified  its 
general  character.  At  any  rate,  the  coefficient  of  correlation  is  low, 
being  0.47=^0.03  (Table  XXXIV). 


16 


12 


10 


46  10  12  14 

FIG.  2.— Correlation  between  Education  of  Fathers  and  Mothers 


16 


2.  Mothers  and  daughters. — This  relationship  is  much  higher  than 
that  between  fathers  and  sons  and  the  curve  (Fig.  4)  lacks  the  flattened 
appearance  at  the  lower  end  which  characterizes  the  other.  This  may 
be  due  to  the  tendency  of  girls  to  stay  in  school  longer  than  boys,  or  it 
may  be  a  mere  chance  variation.  The  coefficient  of  correlation  is  o .  60  =*= 


44 
i6 

14 

12 
10 

8 
I 
6 

THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

A 

/ 

h~<>S 

I 

M 

^ 

^o> 

V 

v 

24  6  8  10  12  14  16 

FIG.  3. — Correlation  between  Education  of  Fathers  and  Sons 

TABLE  XXXIV 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS  AND  EDUCATION  or  SONS 


Years  of 

i< 

ars  c 

i  act 

oonr 

g  ot 

ratn 

ers 

of  Sons 

18  

o 

I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

I 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

I 

i? 

18 

19 

20 

17 

I 

I 

16 

I 

2 

I 

I 

JC.  . 

I 

2 

14  

2 

I 

I 

I 

I«.  . 

2 

T 

? 

T 

7 

12 

x 

e 

2 

I 

e 

I 

I 

II    .  . 

I 

I 

I 

? 

I 

2 

2 

I 

10  

2 

2 

4 

I 

2 

I 

I 

J 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

0 

2 

2 

2 

2 

14. 

4" 

IO 

7 

q 

2 

I 

I 

2 

j 

2 

6 

Id. 

J 

I 

I 

6 

2 

6 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

7 

I 

I 

2 

r  =0.47=^0.03 

n  =224 

Median  education  of  sons,  8  years 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


45 


0.03  (Table  XXXV).    The  daughter  who  is  indicated  as  illiterate  was 
an  epileptic,  unable  to  attend  school. 

TABLE  XXXV 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Years  of  Schooling  of  Mothers 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 

10    . 

I 

18 

17 

16 

I 

4 

* 

II 

je 

2 

2 

14. 

I 

I 
2 

3 

2 

.... 

T* 

I 
II 

5 
ii 

4 
17 

10 

3 

I 
2 
2 

I 

3 
4 

i 

4 
ii 

i 

i 

^o  
12    .                                      .... 

I 

4 

2 

3 

6 
6 
3 

7 
2 

3 

2 
2 

I 

II     

2 

10  

I 

5 

8  

3 
3 

2 
2 

I 
I 
2 

3 

8 
9 

2 

S 

2 

.... 

7 

6  

2 



I 

i 

3.    .  . 

2    .     . 

I  

o  

I 

r  =0.60=4=0.03 
«  =234 


Median  education  of  daughters,  9  years 


12 


10 


2  4  6  8  10  12 

FIG.  4. — Correlation  between  Education  of  Mothers  and  Daughters 


46  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

3.  Fathers  and  daughters. — This  relationship  is  higher  than  that 
between  fathers  and  sons  and  lower  than  that  between  mothers  and 
daughters.  The  difference  is  so  little  in  either  case  that  it  cannot 
legitimately  be  made  the  basis  of  any  conclusion.  The  coefficient  of 
correlation  is  0.56=^=0.03  (Table  XXXVE). 

TABLE  XXXVI 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  DAUGHTERS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS 


Years  of 
Schooling 
of  Daugh- 
ters 

Years  of  Schooling  of  Fathers 

o 

i 

2 

3 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

I 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

IQ.  . 

T8 

17  

16  

I 

4 

I 

I 

2 

I 

2 

2 

4 

2 

I 

ie.  . 

I 

14  

I 

I 

2 

17.  . 

I 

i 

7 

I 

I 

I 

12  

I 
2 

2 

I 

4 

2 
II 
IO 

4 
i 

3 

2 

4 
3 

12 
IO 

3 

12 

3 

8 

2 

8 
6 

2 
2 

I 
2 

I 

4 

2 
2 

5 

i 

8 

i 

2 

n 

I 
I 

IO    . 

0.  • 

I 

I 

I 

8 

3 

2 

I 

3 

2 

I 

I 
2 

I 

5 

I 

i 

7 

6  

c    . 

3 

... 

3 

i 

2 

I 

4  

I 

I 

2 

I 

o  .    . 

i 

r=o. 56=^=0. 03 


4.  Mothers  and  sons. — This  relationship  is  almost  the  same  as 
the  preceding,  the  coefficient  of  correlation  being  0.55=^0.03  (Table 
XXXVII). 

5.  Parental  average  and  children. — When  the  average  schooling  of  each 
family  is  correlated  with  the  schooling  of  the  children,  a  closer  relation- 
ship is  revealed.    The  coefficients  of  correlation  are  0.65 ±0.03  for  the 
sons   (Table  XXXVIII)   and  0.62=1=0.03   for  the  daughters   (Table 
XXXIX),  a  rather  high  degree  of  correspondence. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


47 


TABLE  XXXVII 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  SONS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Years  of  Schooling  of  Mothers 

0 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

18 

I 

I 

17 

I 

I 

16 

I 

•2 

2 

I? 

I 

I 

I 

14 

7 

2 

11 

2 

4 
4 
5 
5 
18 

10 

3 

i 

I 
2 

I 

I 
5 

2 
2 

I 
I 

2 
5 

I 

12 

I 

I 
I 
2 

5 
II 

9 
3 

2 

I 

I 

II 

I 

IO 

I 

2 

2 

I 
3 
5 
4 
3 

4 
S 
4 

2 
2 

I 

8 

I 

£ 

7 

6 

4 

3 
c 

I 
I 
I 

6 

A 

I 

c 

I 

i 

4 

I 

•3      . 

2 

r  ==°-55=fc:o-°3 

M  =214 


TABLE  XXXVIII 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  SONS  AND  AVERAGE  EDUCATION  OF  PARENTS 


Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 


Years  of  School- 

ing of  Sons 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

18  

I 

17 

I 

16 

I 

I 

2 

IS.  . 

2 

14.  . 

2 

I 

2 

13-  • 

2 

I 

2 

I 

I 

12  

2 

2 

2 

<r 

I 

•a 

I 

II 

I 

I 

2 

2 

I 

IO 

I 

2 

•2 

2 

I 

I 

2 

2 

7 

2 

I 

I 

I 

g 

I 

I 

13 

8 

13 

I 

2 

2 

2 

I 

7. 

I 

4" 

6 

13 

6 

I 

2 

6  

I 

I 

2 

A 

2 

2 

I 

I 

c  .  . 

I 

2 

I 

I 

C 

I 

I 

4  

I 

4 

I 

2 

r  =  0.65=0.03 
n  =220 


48 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


6.  Sons  and  better-educated  parent. — When  the  relationship  which 
existed  between  the  better-educated  parent  of  each  family  and  the  sons 
hi  the  matter  of  schooling  was  evaluated,  it  furnished  a  correlation  coeffi- 
cient of  0.60=1=0.03  (Table  XL). 

TABLE  XXXIX 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  DAUGHTERS  AND  AVERAGE 
EDUCATION  OF  PARENTS 


Years  of 
Schooling  of 
Daughters 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

10.  . 

I 

18  

17 

16 

I 

3 

2 
2 

2 

.... 

5 

5 

i 

I 

ic 

2 
II 

2 

4 

i 

3 

i 
i 

2 

3 
7 
3 

2 

I 

T2 

I 

.... 

I 

IO 

12 

2 
2 

I 

2 

I 
4 

3 

2 

4 
5 
ii 

8 

2 

4 

8 

4 
9 

7 

i 
i 

II 

I 

I 

IO           «... 

I 

i 

2 

2 

I 

.... 

I 

g 

2 

I 
2 

3 
3 

3 

2 
2 
4 

14 

12 

3 

7 

6 

I 

2 



I 

i 

i 

o 

i 

r  =0.62 
n  =232 


=0.03 


7.  Sons  and  more  poorly  educated  parent.  This  relationship  proved 
to  be  nearly  the  same  as  the  preceding,  being  slightly  lower,  o.  57=^0. 03 
(Table  XLI). 

Comparisons. — All  the  sons  and  daughters  who  have  been  given  in 
the  data  thus  far  presented  in  this  section  were  reported  as  having  com- 
pleted their  education.  A  few,  perhaps,  may  reconsider  their  decisions 
and  continue  their  schooling  later.  On  the  other  hand,  the  parents 
passed  the  customary  ages  for  school  attendance  long  ago.  Hence,  when 
the  amounts  of  schooling  which  the  children  have  received  are  compared 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


49 


TABLE  XL 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  SONS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  BETTER- 
EDUCATED  PARENT 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Years  of  Schooling  of  Better-Educated  Parent 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

18 

T 

T 

T 

T 

16 

T 

T 

? 

T 

T 

re 

T 

T 

T 

2 

I 

i 

I 

A4  

I 

I 

T, 

I 

I 

I 

XO  
12 

2 

I 
2 

4 

IO 
IO 

3 

i 

T 

3 

2 

6 

14 

IO 

3 

i 

I 

8 
3 

4 

2 

3 

2 

5 
3 

I 

I 

I 

II 

I 

T 

I 

I 

2 

6 
5 
3 

I 

3 

i 

i 

i 

T 

I 

g 

2 

I 

3 
T, 

i 

I 

7- 

2 



2 

I 

i 

I 

2 

I 

I 
a 

2 

T 

I 



I 

? 

r  =  o.6o=»=o.o3 
n  =216 


TABLE  XLI 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  SONS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  MORE 
POORLY  EDUCATED  PARENT 


Years  of  Schooling  of  More  Poorly  Educated  Parent 


Years  of  Schooling  of  Sons 

0 

I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

18         

? 

17    . 

T 

TT 

16  

3 

? 

If 

i 

I 

I 

14  

3 

? 

14 

T. 

2 

2 

I 

12                        .          .          .... 

I 

I 

2 

6 

2 

5" 

II                   

I 

I 

7 

I 

IO             

I 

2 

T 

6 

T 

2 

I 

I 

2 

7 

6 

7 

? 

? 

9.  . 

8  

7 

? 

-2 

? 

T? 

6 

T7 

4 

T 

? 

7 

2 

I 

6 

I 

6 

ii 

6 

2 

6 

2 

2 

I 

2 

2 

i 

5* 

•1 

I 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

-i 

2 

r  =0.57=1=0.03 
n  =216 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


with  the  amounts  received  by  their  parents  a  generation  earlier,  an 
incomplete  quantity  is  being  compared  with  a  complete  one. 

i.  Amounts  of  education  received  by  fathers  and  sons:  The  fathers 
have  received  almost  as  much  schooling  as  their  sons.    The  difference 


Q 


MEDIAN  OF  FATHERS  — 8.45 

MEDIAN  OF  SONS 8.60 

DIFFERENCE .15±.19 


EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS 

EDUCATION  OF  SONS 

PA  RT  COVERED  BY  BOTH 


YRS 


0246  10        12          14        16         18         20 

FIG.  5. — Education  of  Fathers  and  Sons:  Years  of  Schooling 

between  the  medians,  8 . 45  years  for  the  fathers  and  8 . 60  years  for  the 
sons,  is  only  0.15=1=0.19  year  (Fig.  5).  When  these  comparative  sur- 
faces of  frequency  are  examined,  it  is  seen  that  a  few  more  fathers  are 
at  the  lower  end  and  a  few  more  sons  at  the  upper  end.  When  the  char- 
acter of  the  school  work  completed  by  both  groups  is  taken  into  consid- 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


eration,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  present  generation,  although 
apparently  attending  school  for  no  more  years  than  its  predecessor,  has 
enjoyed  a  longer  school  year  and  a  much  richer  curriculum. 

2.  Amounts  of  education  received  by  the  mothers  and  daughters: 
The  mothers  have,  on  the  average,  received  one  year  less  schooling  than 


MEDIAN  OF  MOTHERS         8.SO  YRS. 
MEDIAN  OF  DAUGHTERS   9,60     " 
DIFFERENCE  l.00?.20     " 


EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS   

EDUCATION  OF  DAUGHTERS -^r 

PART  COVERED  BY  BOTH  CURVES/^X 


n- 


i — i 


o  2  4  68  10         12         14         16         18        20 

FIG.  6. — Education  of  Mothers  and  Daughters:  Years  of  Schooling 

then*  daughters.  The  median  number  of  years  of  schooling  received  is 
8 . 6  years  for  the  mothers  and  9 . 6  years  for  the  daughters.  A  difference 
of  i. oo ±0.20  years  (Fig.  6). 

These  slight  differences  may  be  explained  partly  by  the  increased 
educational  opportunities  offered  to  the  present  generation  and  partly 
by  the  desire  on  the  part  of  parents,  especially  those  poorly  educated, 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


to  give  their  children  a  little  better  education  than  they  themselves 
received.  The  nature  of  this  difference  may,  perhaps,  be  seen  best  hi 
a  comparison  of  the  numbers  who  received  more,  the  same,  or  less  edu- 
cation than  their  parents  (Tables  XLII,  XLIII,  XLIV).  In  but  few 

TABLE  XLII 
COMPARISON  OF  EDUCATION  OF  CHILDREN  WITH  AVERAGE  EDUCATION  or  PARENTS 


Average  Years  of  Schooling,  Parents 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

ii 

12 

13 

6 

i 

2 

8 

14 

Sons 
Received  more  

5 

4 

3 

7 
4 

2 

16 

i 

25 
6 

34 
3 

2 

20 
13 

4 
25 

2 

16 

13 
8 

22 
9 

9 

13 

2 

4 

23 

I 
5 

II 

I 

6 
17 

2 
2 

3 
3 
8 

7 
10 

i 

4 

i 

Received  same  

Received  less  

Daughters 
Received  more       .       .    . 

3 

2 

4 

9 

13 

4 

i 

Received  same  

Received  less  

3 

2 

3 

2 

TABLE  XLIII 
COMPARISON  OF  EDUCATION  OF  CHILDREN  WITH  EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS 


Years  of  Schooling  of  Fathers 

o 

i 

2 

3 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

Sons 
Received  more  . 
Received  same  . 
Received  less   . 

7 

II 

6 

3 

I 

8 

I 
3 

5 

i 
I 

1 

4 

3° 
4 
4 

17 

14 
4 

25 

IO 

3 

24 
IO 
10 

3I 

6 

i 

7 

6 
i 

8 

3 

2 

6 

i 

I 

I 

i 

I 

8 
13 
8 

6 

7 

i 
i 

10 

I 

5 

i 

2 
I 

5 
4 
I 

2 

2 

I 

2 

Daughters 
Received  more  . 
Received  same  . 

3 

IS 

3 

6 

I 
I 

Received  less 

i 

I 

I 

TABLE  XLIV 
COMPARISON  OF  EDUCATION  OF  CHILDREN  WITH  EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS 


Years  of  Schooling  of  Mothers 

o 

i 

2 

3 

4 

s 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

15 

Sons 
Received  more.  .  .  . 
Received  same 

I 

6 

... 

19 

5 

3 

i 

ii 
4 
3 

23 

2 
2 

2O 

1 

19 

6 
6 

27 
18 

38 
17 
14 

4 
4 

10 

7 
3 
S 

IO 

5 

19 

i 

7 

2 

4 

7 
S 
ii 

18 
7 
9 

i 

3 

i 

i 

Received  less  

Daughters 
Received  more  .... 
Received  same  .... 
Received  less 

... 

6 

... 

13 

4 
3 

PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  53 

cases  did  the  children  of  poorly-educated  parents  receive  less  education 
than  their  parents.  When  the  education  of  the  children  of  those  parents1 
who  went  to  the  eighth  year  or  beyond  is  compared  with  that  of  their 
parents,  there  is  no  such  marked  increase.  In  comparison  with  the 
average  education  of  these  parents,  49  per  cent  of  their  sons  and  64  per 
cent  of  their  daughters  received  more  education  and  32  per  cent  of  their 
sons  and  20  per  cent  of  their  daughters  received  less.  In  comparison 
with  these  fathers  39  per  cent  of  the  sons  and  59  per  cent.of  the  daughters 
received  more,  while  45  per  cent  of  the  sons  and  21  per  cent  of  the  daugh- 
ters received  less,  showing  that  these  sons  actually  received  less  educa- 
tion on  the  average  than  their  fathers.  When  the  mothers  are  considered, 
both  the  sons  and  daughters  received  slightly  better  average  educations, 
43  per  cent  of  the  sons  and  57  per  cent  of  the  daughters  receiving  more 
than  their  mothers,  and  34  per  cent  of  the  sons  and  24  per  cent  of  the 
daughters,  less. 

Schooling  of  parents  and  progress  of  pupils  now  in  school. — The  chil- 
dren fourteen  years  of  age  and  older  who  were  reported  to  the  writer  as 
intending  to  continue  their  schooling  were  in  various  grades  from  the 
fifth  to  the  last  year  of  the  university.  An  attempt  to  determine  if 
retardation  was  greatest  among  the  children  of  the  less  educated  families 
was  made  by  comparing  each  age  group  with  a  scale  of  "ideal  progress." 
According  to  this  scale  a  boy  or  girl 

14  years  of  age  should  have  been  in  the  8th  grade 

15  «  "       9th  grade 

16  «        "  "  "  "        roth  grade 

17  "       "  "  "  "       nth  grade 

18  "       1 2th  grade 

19  "        ist  year  of  college 

20  2d  year  of  college 
21-22    "       "                                       "        3d  year  of  college 
23-24    "       "                                       "        4th  year  of  college 

This  scale  is  entirely  arbitrary  and  is  of  value  only  to  the  extent  that 
it  serves  as  a  measure  of  retardation  and  acceleration.  It  assumes,  of 
course,  that  children  enter  school  at  six  years  of  age,  which  is  the  general 
rule  in  Urbana.  This,  however,  may  not  have  been  true  of  all  the  cases 

1  This  comparison  was  limited  to  these  parents  because  their  education  extended 
beyond  the  age  affected  by  compulsory  attendance  laws.  The  children  of  parents 
who  have  less  education  may  be  kept  in  school  by  law  more  than  through  parental 
influence. 


54 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


recorded  in  this  study.    Some  may  have  entered  at  eight  or  nine  and 
have  progressed  through  the  grades  in  the  normal  number  of  years. 

When  the  resulting  comparisons  are  examined,  it  is  seen  that  there 
is  a  positive  relationship  between  home  conditions  and  the  progress  of 
the  pupils.  With  the  girls  this  is  only  o.  22=1=0.06  (Table  XLVI),  while 

TABLE  XLV 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  AVERAGE  EDUCATION  OF  PARENTS  AND  PROGRESS  OF  SONS 

YET  IN  SCHOOL 
RELATION  TO  PROGRESS,  BOYS 


Years 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

4-2    

I 

4-1 

2 

4 
5 

i 

2 

7 
3 

2 

o 

2 

4 
7 
5 
3 

4 

i 

2 

2 

2 
2 

I 



—  i   .                    

4 

2 
2 

3 

2 

I 
I 

—  2    

I 

—  3.  . 

—  c 

I 

r  =0.37=1=0.07 

n  =79 

Average  retardation,  o .  96  year 


TABLE  XLVI 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  AVERAGE  EDUCATION  OF  PARENTS  AND  PROGRESS  OF 
DAUGHTERS  YET  IN  SCHOOL 

RELATION  TO  PROGRESS,   GIRLS 


Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 


Years 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 

U 

IS 

16 

4-1 

I 

2 

I 

2 

I 

o 

2 

2 

C 

4 

6 

4 

C 

2 

I 

I 

I 

—  J 

2 

2 

7 

5" 

i 

7 

2 

•~2 

I 

j 

q 

2 

2 

—  2 

I 

2 

I 

—  A. 

2 

I 

r  =  0.22=4=0.06 

n  =97 

Average  retardation,  o .  63  year 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  55 

it  is  o .  37  =*=  o .  07  with  the  boys.    The  boys,  with  an  average  of  o .  96  year 
retardation,  were  retarded  more  than  the  girls,  who  averaged  0.63  year. 

SUMMARY  AND   CONCLUSIONS 

The  relationships  presented  in  this  section  may  be  summed  up  as  hi 

Table  XLVII. 

TABLE  XLVII 

Education  of  fathers  correlated  with  education  of  mothers 0.65=1=0.03 

"  fathers         "  "  u         "  sons 0.47*0.03 

"mothers       "  "  "         "daughters 0.60=1=0.03 

"  fathers         "  "  "         "  daughters o.  56 ±0.03 

"  mothers       "  "  "         "  sons o.  55=^0.03 

"  parents        "  "  sons 0.65=^=0.03 

"  parents        "  "         "  daughters  0.62=1=0.03 

"  better-educated  parent  correlated  with  education  of 

sons o.6o=fco.o3 

"  more  poorly  educated  parent  correlated  with  educa- 
tion of  sons o.  57=fco.o3 

"  parents  correlated  with  progress  of  sons 0.3  7  ±0.07 

u          "parents        "  "         tt         "daughters o.  22=^=0.06 

Fathers  are  slightly  more  variable  with  respect  to  number  of  years  of 
schooling  received  than  are  the  mothers. 

The  median  amounts  of  schooling  of  parents  and  children  are  as 
follows: 

Fathers,  8 . 45  years  Mothers,  8 . 60  years 

Sons,  8 . 60  years  Daughters,  9 . 60  years 

Difference,  o .  1 5  =t  o .  19  years          Difference,  i .  oo  =t  o .  20  years 

The  boys  now  in  school  are  retarded  more  than  the  girls,  as  indicated 
by  an  age-grade  distribution. 

There  is  a  close  relationship  between  the  educational  level  of  a  home 
and  the  length  of  time  children  remain  in  school. 

SECTION  II.      ECONOMIC  HOME  CONDITIONS 

This  section  deals  with  the  economic  status  of  the  families  under  con- 
sideration. The  economic  status  of  a  family  is  not  always  apparent 
to  a  visitor.  Nor  can  one  receive  a  wholly  reliable  estimate  of  it  from 
an  examination  of  the  assessor's  sheets.  Since  this  study  includes 
families  all  of  whose  children  are  grown,  other  families  with  infants 


56  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

taxing  their  resources,  and  all  sorts  of  intermediate  types,  it  is  quite 
apparent  that  an  index  which  adequately  represents  the  economic 
status  of  each  family  is  not  easily  obtainable.  Three  indices— rental 
value  of  home,  personal  property  assessment,  and  real  estate  assess- 
ment— were  selected  as  criteria,  and  the  results  bearing  upon  them  are 
presented  for  what  they  are  worth. 

RENTAL  VALUES  AND  SCHOOLING  OF  CHILDREN 

Every  home  was  assigned  a  rental  value  at  the  time  the  data  were 
collected.  This  was  a  comparatively  easy  matter,  for  in  most  cases 
where  the  home  was  owned  by  the  family  the  member  who  furnished 
the  information  to  the  writer  was  fairly  well  acquainted  with  rental 
values  in  the  neighborhood.  A  little  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
determining  rental  indices  for  a  few  of  the  better  homes  which  were 
built  by  their  present  occupants  for  their  own  use  and  which  far  sur- 
passed all  rented  homes  in  the  neighborhood  in  beauty  and  conveniences. 
In  such  cases  the  writer  usually  offered  a  conservative  figure  to  some 
responsible  member  of  the  family  for  approval.  Hence,  nearly  all  the 
homes  with  rental  indices  of  $40  a  month  or  more  are  probably  under- 
estimated. Since  rental  values  are  subject  to  fluctuation,  the  approxi- 
mations given  here  cannot  be  considered  as  valid  or  representative  for 
any  considerable  period  of  time.  A  further  complication  was  due  to 
the  presence  of  roomers  in  a  few  homes.  This  tended  to  reduce  the 
real  rents  below  the  values  assigned  to  these  homes.  Such  families 
were  included  in  the  group  given  here,  although  such  a  procedure  may  be 
open  to  criticism.  In  spite  of  all  the  disturbing  influences  mentioned, 
it  is  felt  by  the  writer  that  the  rental  index  is  a  fairly  good  measure  of 
the  economic  status  of  families. 

When  the  rental  values  were  correlated  with  the  amounts  of  schooling 
which  the  children  have  received,  the  coefficients  of  correlation,  0.63+ 
0.03  for  the  sons  (Table  XL VIII)  and  0.64+0.03  for  the  daughters 
(Table  XLIX) ,  were  obtained.  If  the  large  number  of  disturbing  factors 
which  have  affected  the  indices  are  taken  into  consideration,  these  cor- 
relations seem  high. 

PERSONAL  PROPERTY  ASSESSMENTS  AND   SCHOOLING    OF  CHILDREN 

The  personal  property  indices  were  taken  from  the  1915  tax  books 
at  the  courthouse  in  Urbana.  These  assessments  were  made  during  the 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


57 


TABLE  XLVIII 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  RENTAL  VALUES  AND  EDUCATION  OF  SONS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Rental  Values  of  Home,  Dollars  per  Month 

10 

12.50 

15 

17.50 

2O 

22.50 

25 

27.50 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

18 

5 

i 
i 

I 

17 

i 

16 

I 

1C.  . 

2 

I 

14  

I 

i 

2 

I 

17.  . 

i 
3 

2 

I 
2 

3 

2 

I 

.... 

I 

12 

i 

2 

6 
3 
3 
9 
16 

14 
ii 

i 
i 

2 

I 

2 

I 

II 

i 

2 
2 

3 

2 

I 

IO 

3 

i 

2 

3 

2 

7 
3 

2 

3 

2 

2 

I 

I 
I 

I 
7 
7 

i 

4 
6 

3 
7 
9 
6 

7 

2 

I 

8   . 

2 

6 

c 

.... 

3. 

r  =o. 63=1=0. 03 
n  =224 


10  20  30  40  50 

FIG.  7. — Correlation  between  Education  of  Sons  and  Rental  Values 


58  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

summer  of  1914  and  the  figures  are  supposed  to  represent  one- third  of 
the  actual  valuation  that  the  properties  would  have  at  a  forced  sale. 
A  few  families  that  were  overlooked  by  the  assessor  were  given  the  values 
of  the  1913  assessment.  A  few  families  that  have  more  personal  property 
than  the  average  were  missed  by  the  assessor  both  times.  Owing  to  the 
almost  universal  practice  of  "tax-dodging,"  the  values  given  here  con- 
tain a  large  element  of  unreliability.  How  large  this  is,  cannot  be 

TABLE  XLIX 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  RENTAL  VALUES  AND  EDUCATION  or  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Rental  Values  of  Home,  Dollars  per  Month 

IO 

12.50 

is 

17-50 

20 

22.50 

25 

27.50 

30 

35 

40 

45 

so 

55 

60 

10. 

i 

18  

17  

16  

-2 

2 

I 

6 
3 

2 

2 

3 

2 

JC. 

14.  . 

I 

I 

13  .  . 

I 

i 

2 

I 

2 

I 
I 

i 

12  

I 

2 

IO 
2 

7 
3 
14 

12 

7 
3 

i 
i 

2 

4 

2 
2 

6 

3 

i 

i 

5 

i 

i 
i 

i 

2 
2 

I 

I 

9 

2 

3 

4 

e 

I 

3 

i 
i 

4 

I 

II 

IO.  . 

2 

I 

5 

Q.  . 

I 
2 

i 

8 

6 
9 

3 
3 

6 
6 
5 
3 

2 

7 

I 

6. 

i 

4  

2 

i 

i 

2. 

I  .... 

O  

i 

r  =0.64^0.03 
n  =226 


determined.  If  it  is  a  constant  factor  affecting  all  classes  alike,  it  reduces 
the  indices  but  does  not  shift  them  from  their  true  order.  Taking  these 
errors  into  consideration,  it  is  surprising  that  the  correlations  between 
the  schooling  of  the  children  and  the  personal  property  assessment 
indices  are  as  large  as  they  are.  They  are  0.47=1=0.04  for  the  sons 
(Table  L)  and  o. 52=^=0.04  for  the  daughters  (Table  LI).  These  figures 
were  calculated  for  the  group  who  were  assessed. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


59 


TABLE  L 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  PERSONAL  PROPERTY  VALUES  AND  EDUCATION  OF  SONS 


Years  of 
Schooling 
of  Sons 

Personal  Property  Assessment  of  Home,  Dollars 

o 

10 

20 

30 

40 

SO 

60 

70 

80 

90 

IOO 

125 

ISO 

175 

2OO 

250 

300 

400 

500 

600 

18  

T 

T 

17 

I 

16 

I 

i 

I 

I 

iq 

i 

I 

I 

14. 

2 

i 

2 

13 

T 

T 

I 

I 

T 

2 

2 
I 

12    

4 

I 

3 

2 
2 

I 

2 
2 

I 

I 

? 

T 

T 

II 

2 

2 
2 
2 

8 

10 

4 

i 

4 

i 
i 
i 

7 

i 

2 
2 

I 

I 

I 

IO 

I 

3 
4 
4 

i 
i 

i 
4 

2 

4 

i 
I 

4 

i 
8 

i 
i 

2 

2 

o 

2 

I 

5 

10 
12 

6 

2 
2 

I 

3 

I 

2 

2 

1  

7 

I 

I 

I 

7 

I 

I 

6 

c    . 

I 

4  

T 

7.  . 

r  =  o.4 
n  =198 


/\ 


O      SO    IOO    150    200    250    300   350    400    450    500    550    600 

FIG.  8. — Correlation  between  Education  of  Sons  and  Personal  Property  Values 


6o 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


TABLE  LI 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  PERSONAL  PROPERTY  VALUES  AND  EDUCATION  or  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of 
Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Personal  Property  Assessment  of  Home,  Dollars 

o 

IO 

20 

30 

40 

So 

60 

70 

80 

90 

IOO 

125 

150 

175 

200 

250 

300 

400 

500 

600 

IO.  . 

I 

18  

17    . 

16  

I 

2 

I 

2 

2 

2 

i 

I 

7 

4 

is.  . 

i 

2 

14 

I 

2 

i 
i 
i 

J7 

2 

I 

2 

i 

I 

12    

2 

2 

2 

I 

4 

2 

I 
I 

2 
4 

3 

2 

6 

4 

i 

7 

2 

3 
3 
4 

i 

2 

4 

2 
2 

I 

7 

2 
2 

6 
5 

2 

I 
I 

3 

i 

I 

5 

I 

I 
I 

II  

IO 

I 

2 

2 

I 

i 

7. 

8  

7 

5 

i 

3 
3 

10 

7 

IO 

ii 

i 

4 

7 
3 

3 

i 

I 

7  

I 

6 

£ 

4 

7  .  . 

i 

I 

2 

I 

o 

i 

r  =  0.52=0.04 
n  =212 


VALUES   OF  HOME  AND   SCHOOLING  OF  CHILDREN 

The  real  estate  assessment  indices  were  taken  from  the  1915  tax 
books  just  as  the  personal  property  indices  were.  Owing  to  the  unal- 
phabetical  arrangement  of  the  books,  it  would  have  been  an  extremely 
laborious  and  probably  unprofitable  task  to  ascertain  the  total  values 
of  the  real  property  owned  by  *  the  different  individuals  represented  in 
our  investigation.  Because  of  this  fact  it  was  decided  to  take  the  value 
of  the  home  in  which  the  family  lived,  if  owned  by  one  of  its  members, 
as  the  real  estate  index.  The  assessed  valuation  was  one-third  of 
the  actual  valuation.  The  correlation  of  the  real  estate  assessment 
indices  with  the  schooling  of  the  sons  is  0.63=*=  0.04  (Table  LII),  and 
with  the  schooling  of  the  daughters  it  is  0.58=^0.04  (Table  LILT). 
These  figures  are  calculated  from  the  group  of  those  who  owned  their 
homes. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


6l 


TABLE  LII 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  REAL  ESTATE  VALUES  AND  SCHOOLING  OF  SONS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Real  Estate  Assessment  of  Home,  Hundreds  of  Dollars 

o 

I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

0 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

18 

I 

I 

17 

I 

I 

16 

I 

I 

I 

2 

I 

1C  .   . 

2 

I 

14.  . 

2 

T 

T 

T 

J2.   . 

I 

T 

T 

T 

4 

2 

12  

4 

2 

I 

I 

3 

... 

I 

2 

I 

I 
j 

I 

I 
j 

j  j 

IO 

2 

2 
2 
S 

4 

s 

3 
3 

I 

4 
5 
S 

2 

I 

3 
3 

2 

2 

I 

2 

3 

I 

6 

I 

5 

2 

I 

I 

9.  . 

8  

23 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

7  

2O 

4 

i 

6  

17 

T 

ft 

i 

I 

4  
3 

5 

2 

r  =0.63=^0.04 
n  =129 


18 


16 


12 


10 


\/ 


200       400       600       800      1000      1200      1400     1600 

FIG.  9. — Correlation  between  Education  of  Sons  and  Real  Estate  Values 


62 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


TABLE  LIU 

CORRELATION   BETWEEN  REAL  ESTATE  VALUES  AND  SCHOOLING  OF  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Real  Estate  Assessment  of  Home,  Hundreds  of  Dollars 

o 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Q 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

19  

I 

18  

17  

16 

A 

I 

I 

I 

2 

I 

I 

4 

i^.  . 

I 

2 

14  

I 

2 

i 

17.  . 

? 

T 

I 

12 

8 

I 

I 

5 
4 
5 

I 
2 

2 
2 

s 

I 

2 

4 

i 

2 

2 

2 

I 
I 

I 
I 

S 

II     

7 

10  

IO 

2 

I 

8 

I 

I 

I 

I 

0 

16 

2 

2 
3 

3 

2 

12 

7 
3 

i 

4 

2 

I 
2 

I 
I 

I 

2 

4" 

2 

7 

16 

6  

ii 

c.  . 

7 

•7 

I 

i 

2  

I 

o 

i 

r  =0.58=1=0.04 
n  =144 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

The  relationships  presented  in  this  section  may  be  summed  up  as 

follows: 

TABLE  LIV 

Rental  value  of  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  sons 0.63=4=0.03 

Rental  value  of  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  daughters 0.64=*=  0.03 

Personal  property  assessment  correlated  with  schooling  of  sons. .  0.47=1=0.04 
Personal  property  assessment  correlated  with  schooling  of  daugh- 
ters   o.  52=1=0.04 

Real  estate  assessment  correlated  with  schooling  of  sons o.  63 ±0.04 

Real  estate  assessment  correlated  with  schooling  of  daughters  ...   o.  58 ±0.04 

Allowing  for  the  approximate  character  of  the  indices,  it  may  be 
said  that  economic  home  conditions  in  Urbana  are  closely  correlated 
with  the  amounts  of  schooling  which  the  children  receive. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  63 

SECTION  III.      SOCIAL  AND   QUASI-SOCIAL  RELATIONSHIPS 
NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  THE  HOME  AND   SCHOOLING  OF  THE  CHILDREN 

The  number  of  books  in  a  home  is  a  rough  index  of  the  culture  of  the 
home.  It  does  not  take  into  consideration  the  possibility  of  using  the 
free  public  library,  an  opportunity  which  has  been  open  to  all  Urbana 
homes  during  recent  years.1  It  disregards  the  differences  in  the  quality 

TABLE  LV 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOME  AND  EDUCATION  OF  SONS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Sons 

Number  of  Books  in  Home 

IO 

25 

SO 

75 

100 

ISO 

200 

250 

300 

350 

400 

500 

18 

2 

17 

I 

I 

I 

16 

2 

I 

2 

jr 

2 
2 

I 

Id 

I 

I 

I 

17 

I 
2 

I 

3 

2 

I 

I 
I 

2 
2 

I 

12 

3 

2 

6 

2 

I 
I 

j  I 

IO              .  .               .     . 

7 
ii 

19 
8 
6 

3 

i 

2 

I 

5 

2 

I 

5 

i 
6 

i 

I 

3 

3 

2 

3 

7 
17 

5 
3 

i 

2 

I 

8  

4 
8 

9 

4 
5 

I 
I 

2 

7.  . 

6 

c 

I 

4- 

2  . 

f  =0. 67=4=0. 03 

W  =222 


and  character  of  the  books,  which  were  probably  marked  in  some  cases. 
Yet,  in  spite  of  these  limitations,  it  bears  a  closer  relationship  to  the 
number  of  years  of  schooling  children  receive  than  any  other  measure 
used  in  this  study.  For  the  sons  the  coefficient  of  correlation  between  the 
books  in  the  home  and  the  number  of  years  of  schooling  is  0.67=^=0.03 
(Table  LV);  for  the  daughters  it  is  0.68  =±=0.02  (Table  LVI). 


1  The  public  library  in  Urbana  has  been  in  a  position  where  it  could  be  of  service 
to  the  community  for  more  than  thirty  years. 


64 

i8 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


16 


12 


O      50      100     ISO      200      250    300     350     400     450      500 

FIG.  10. — Correlation  between  Education  of  Sons  and  Size  of  Home  Libraries 

TABLE  LVI 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOME  AND  EDUCATION 
OF  DAUGHTERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Daughters 

Number  of  Books  in  Home 

IO 

25 

SO 

75 

100 

ISO 

200 

250 

300 

3SO 

400 

SOO 

600 

IO 

I 

11  ::: 

17.  . 

!6  

I 

2 

I 

3 

I 

I 

2 

I 

7 
i 

I 

It; 

2 

14. 

i 

I 

2 

3 

I 
13 

8 

i 

5 

i 

2 

2 
2 

2 

9 

4 

i 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

12 

I 

4 

3 

e 

•3 

II 

IO    .             .          .     . 

I 

4 
4 
13 
17 
6 

5 

Oo  ON  ONC/I  to  (. 

4 

i 
6 

i 

8 

2 

3 

7 
4 

I 

5 

i 

I 

2 

7 

6 

5" 

i 

4" 

2  .   . 

i 

i 

2 

I 

o   

i 

r  =o.68=*=o.o2 
«  =231 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


HOUSING  AND  SCHOOLING  OF  THE  CHILDREN 

Out  of  a  total  of  234  families  34  reported  one  or  more  grown  indi- 
viduals not  members  of  the  family  but  living  in  the  home.  Housing 
conditions  are  measured  by  number  of  rooms  per  individual.  In  rinding 
this  index  no  distinction  was  made  between  children  and  adults.  In 
general,  the  housing  conditions  found  in  this  investigation  were  quite 
good.  Very  little  overcrowding  existed  and,  in  an  appreciable  number 
of  cases,  it  seemed  as  though  the  people  had  more  room  than  they  could 
use  conveniently.  Housing  conditions  are  probably  a  reflection  of 
economic  status.  Measured  merely  by  the  number  of  rooms  per  indi- 
vidual the  relationships  which  exist  between  housing  conditions  and 
education  of  sons  and  daughters  are  0.50=^0.03  and  0.48=1=0.03, 
respectively  (Tables  LVII,  LVIII).  If  the  size  of  the  rooms  and  the 
presence  or  absence  of  modern  conveniences,  such  as  bath  and  toilet, 
had  been  taken  into  consideration,  the  correlation  would  probably  have 
been  higher. 

TABLE  LVII 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  HOUSING  CONDITIONS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  SONS 


Years  of  Schooling  of  Sons 

Rooms  per  Individual  in  Home 

1 

i 

ii 

2 

3 

4 

18  

2 

I 



17 

I 

16                            

i 
i 

i 

2 

2 

ie 

I 

I 

14. 

i 

2 

I 

4 

i 

12 

3 

7 

12 

16 

22 

8 
4 
4 

2 

3 

8 
5 
4 
14 

2 
2 

I 

3 

i 

2 

I 

2 



T7 

12 

II 

IO                                   ... 

n 

I 
I 
3 

2 

4 

i 

16 
9 

IO 

3 

i 



1  ;.:::::.::..:.:  

7.  . 

6 

5. 

4" 

I 

? 

r  =0.50=1=0.03 
n  =223 


66 
i6 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


10 


01234 
FIG.  ii. — Correlation  between  Education  of  Sons  and  Housing  Conditions 

TABLE  LVIII 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  HOUSING  CONDITIONS  AND  EDUCATION  OF  DAUGHTERS 


Rooms  per  Individual  in  Home 


Years  ot  bcnooling  ol  Daughters 

f 

I 

i* 

2 

3 

4 

IQ 

I 

17.  . 

16  

I 

4 

8 

6 

IIT 

I 

2 

14. 

i 

2 

i 

13    . 

I 

2 

2 

2 

12  

2 

5 

II 

18 

a 

II 

i 

7 

6 

I 

IO                                               .... 

II 

6 

I 

4 

2 

I 

8  

2 

15 

18 

9 

3 

7 

•2 

12 

12 

6 

I 

7 

7 

2 

e 

2 

6 

2 

4 

2 

2 

I 

o 

I 

f  =0.48=^=0.03 
»  =231 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


67 


INTERRELATIONSHIPS 

Thus  far  in  Part  IV  the  various  factors  have  been  considered  sepa- 
rately. In  reality,  they  are  all  interrelated.  A  few  of  these  inter- 
relationships will  be  given  to  show  the  fallacy  which  results  when 
conclusions  overlook  the  complex  character  of  social  phenomena. 

a)  Schooling  of  parents  and  number  of  books  in  the  home. — As  might 
be  forecasted,  there  is  a  close  relationship  between  the  schooling  of  the 
parents  and  the  number  of  books  found  in  the  home.  This  correlation, 
0.60=4=0.03  for  the  fathers  (Table  LIX)  and  0.61=*=  0.03  for  the  mothers 

TABLE  LIX 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOME  AND  EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Fathers 

Number  of  Books  in  Home 

10 

2S 

SO 

75 

100 

150 

2OO 

250 

300 

350 

400 

500 

600 

20  

I 

10  .  . 

I 

18  

i 

17 

I 

H  

i 
i 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

ie                       ,, 

I 

14. 

I 

2 

I 

2 

I 

.... 

13.  . 

I 

12     

4 

3 

i 

4 
4 
5 
9 
ii 

3 

i 

I 
I 
I 

2 

5 

7 

I 
I 
3 

5 
4 
7 

2 

3 

3 

i 

I 

I 

II  

10  '.  . 

i 

2 
13 

! 

3 

i 

I 

Q 

I 
4 

6 

i 

-  2 

i 

I'.  

6 

i 

2 

12 

3 

2 

4 

2 

4 
i 

3 

2 

I 

7 

6. 

e.  . 

I 

I 

2.   . 

I 

i 
i 

I 

I 

2  

I 

2 

I 

I  

O  

I 

i 

r  =0.60^0.03 
n  =230 


(Table  LX),  is  not  so  high,  however,  as  that  previously  noticed  between 
the  number  of  books  in  the  home  and  the  schooling  of  the  children. 
The  difference  is  not  enough  to  be  very  significant,  however. 

b)  Number  of  books  in  the  home  and  size  of  family. — The  relationship 
which  exists  between  the  number  of  books  in  the  home  and  the  number 
of  children  in  that  home  is  slightly  negative,  —  o.  10=*=  0.04  (Table  LXI). 


68 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


This  shows  that  the  number  of  books  owned  by  a  family  is  not  at  all 
dependent  upon  the  number  of  people  there  are  to  read  them. 

TABLE  LX 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOME  AND  EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS 


Years  of  Schooling 
of  Mothers 

Number  of  Books  in  Home 

IO 

25 

so 

75 

too 

ISO 

2OO 

250 

300 

350 

400 

500 

600 

1C.  . 

14  

I 

i 

2 

13  

I 

12  

4 

i 

I 

5 

a 

I 

9 

2 

4 

2 

I 

4 

i 

II  

IO 

6 
9 

12 

4 

I 
4 
5 

i 

i 

7 
3 
IS 

i 

i 

2 

I 

6 

2 

I 

I 

6 
9 

3 

2 

2 

I 
I 
I 

.... 

I 

i 

.... 

9  

2 
6 

3 

i 
i 
5 

5 
13 

10 

7 
3 
3 

8  

i 

7  

6  

5  

4 

i 

3  

2  

2 

i 

i  

o  

I 

r  =o.6i=fco.O3 
n  =230 


TABLE  XLI 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  SIZE  OF  FAMILY  AND  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOME 


No.  of  Children 


Number  of  Books  in  Home 


in  Family 

10 

25 

50 

75 

100 

ISO 

200 

250 

300 

350 

400 

500 

600 

JO  

2 

I 

A 

I 

I 

I 

1  ::  

I 

I 

2 

2 

I 

7.  . 

A 

2 

I 

i 

I 

6 

I 

6 

I 

2 

2 

I 

I 

I 

•2 

2 

2 

i 

I 

I 

2 

7 

8 

6 

2 

I 

I 

I 

4.  . 

IO 

7* 

•5 

S" 

I 

•2 

I 

2 

2 

7 

6 

2 

12 

4. 

6 

4' 

2 

I 

j 

2 

2 

I 

r  =—0.10=4=0.04 
n  =233 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


69 


c)  Rent  and  size  of  family. — To  a  slight  extent  the  better  homes  are 
occupied  by  the  smaller  families.  The  coefficient  of  correlation  between 
size  of  family  and  rental  values  is  also  slightly  negative,  being  —  o.  io=*= 

0.04  (Table  LXII). 

TABLE  LXII 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  SIZE  OF  FAMILY  AND  RENTAL  VALUES 


No.  of  Children 

Rental  Values  of  Home  per  Month,  Dollars 

IO 

is 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

55 

60 

IO 

3 

2 
2 

7 
9 

16 
14 
13 
6 

3 

i 

i 

8 

I 
2 
2 

3 

4 
4 
7 
4 

7 

I 

i 

6 

4 

4 

2 

3 
3 

4 

2 

I 

4 
4 
5 

6 

I 
2 

3 
2 

7 

2 

I 

I 

5 
ii 

3 
3 

4 

i 

2 

I 
2 

3 

5 
3 

2     . 

I 

I  

r  =—o.io= 
»  =234 


=0.04 


d)  Schooling  of  parents  and  size  of  family. — That  educated  parents 
have  smaller  families  has  been  observed  so  often  that  it  has  become  a 
matter  of  common  knowledge.  When  expressed  by  a  coefficient  of 
correlation,  this  relationship  is  —0.20=^0.04  (Table  LXIII).  Of 

TABLE  LXIII 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  SIZE  OF  FAMILY  AND  EDUCATION  OF  PARENTS 


Average  Schooling  of  Parents 


JNO.  oi  cnuaren 

I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

IO          

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

8  

I 

4 

I 

T 

7  

T 

T 

T 

? 

T 

? 

I 

6 

2 

e 

2 

7 

I 

I 

r 

I 

I 

I 

4. 

7 

2 

I 

7 

7 

6 

7 

I 

2 

I 

2 

2 

I 

7 

•2 

8 

c 

2 

6 

I 

2  

T 

T 

I 

c 

2 

8 

8 

8 

4. 

I 

I  

I 

2 

•J 

7 

7 

c 

2 

2 

r  =—0.20=^0.04 
n  =227 


70  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

course,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  only  families  that  had  children 
were  included  in  this  group.  It  may  be  that  there  are  more  families 
without  children  among  the  better  educated.  If  so,  a  selection  of 
homes  which  included  such  homes  in  addition  to  those  studied  here 
would  reveal  a  larger  negative  correlation. 

e)  Education  of  children  and  size  of  family.1 — When  the  entire  group 
is  examined,  it  is  seen  that  the  children  who  came  from  large  families 
did  not  go  to  school  so  long  as  those  who  came  from  small  families. 
This  fact  is  expressed  by  the  coefficient  of  correlation,  —0.20=1=0.05 
(Table  LXIV).  This  is  the  same  as  the  relationship  which  exists 

TABLE  LXIV 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  SIZE  OF  FAMILY  AND  AVERAGE  EDUCATION 
OF  CHILDREN 


Ave 

rage 

Educ 

ation 

of  C 

hildr 

enN 

o  Lo 

ager 

inSc 

hool 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

0 

10 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

IO 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

9. 

8  

I 

I 

2 

I 

7  

2 

I 

4 

2 

I 

T 

6 

I 

e 

t; 

I 

7 

2 

I 

r 

2 

2 

2 

7 

•2 

I 

I 

I 

4  

I 

2 

8 

I 

8 

2 

7 

I 

7 

2 

IT 

2 

7 

2 

6 

A 

I 

I 

2 

I 

2 

2 

* 

4 

2 

7 

2 

I 

<r 

I 

I 

I  . 

I 

2 

I 

i 

2 

2 

2 

I 

I 

r  =  — 0.20=1=0.05 
n  =180 


between  the  schooling  of  the  parents  and  the  size  of  the  family.  It 
has  already  been  shown2  that  there  is  a  decided  relationship  between  the 
schooling  of  the  parents  and  the  schooling  of  the  children.  The  fore- 
going coefficient  of  correlation,  then,  may  be  merely  another  way  of  ex- 
pressing the  relationship  which  exists  between  the  schooling  of  the 
parents  and  the  size  of  the  family. 

1  In  these  tables  the  education  of  the  children  was  averaged  for  each  family. 
This  gives  each  family  a  single  index  and  does  not  over-weight  the  large  families. 
*  Pp.  43-48. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  71 

If  the  influence  of  the  education  of  the  parents  could  be  eliminated, 
it  might  be  possible  to  ascertain  the  presence  or  absence  of  a  true  rela- 
tionship between  the  size  of  family  and  the  schooling  of  the  children. 
An  attempt  to  do  this  was  made  as  follows:  The  median  schooling  of 
parents  is  eight  years  for  the  entire  group.  The  average  schooling 
of  the  children  of  each  family  was  increased  or  decreased  by  the  same 
number  of  years  that  the  average  schooling  of  the  parents  varied  from 
this  median.  Thus,  if  the  parents  averaged  seven  years  and  the  chil- 
dren averaged  six  years,  the  parents  would  be  one  year  below  the  median 
and  the  index  of  the  children  would  be  increased  by  one  year.  Similarly, 
if  the  parents  averaged  twelve  years  and  the  children  fifteen  years,  the 
parents  would  be  four  years  above  the  median  and  the  index  of  the 
children  would  be  decreased  four  years.  These  revised  educational 
averages  of  the  schooling  of  the  children  were  then  correlated  with  the 
number  of  children  in  each  home. 

This  procedure  eliminates  the  influence  of  the  schooling  of  the 
parents.  It  does  not  counteract  other  factors  which  may  act  somewhat 
independently  of  the  education  of  the  parents,  such  as  economic  status 
or  number  of  books  in  the  home.  Further,  compulsory  education 
influences  affect  the  level  of  some  of  the  homes  of  the  poorly  educated 
which  have  large  families  and  tend  to  counterbalance  any  negative 
relationship  which  may  exist.  The  results  do  not  show  any  decided  cor- 
relation. The  slight  negative  relationship,  —  o .  06  =*=  o .  05  (Table  LX V) , 
which  was  found,  is  virtually  a  zero  correlation. 

A  FAMILY  INDEX 

The  fact  that  the  factors  thus  far  considered  probably  acted  con- 
jointly instead  of  independently  in  determining  the  amounts  of  schooling 
which  the  children  received  suggested  that  it  might  be  possible  to  weight 
the  various  items  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  each  family  an  index  and  then 
find  the  relationship  which  existed  between  this  index  and  the  schooling 
of  the  children.  This  was  done  as  follows:  The  25  percentile  deviation 
from  the  median  was  found  for  each  of  the  three  items,  average  education 
of  the  parents,  number  of  books  in  the  home,  and  monthly  rental. 
These  figures,  which  were  approximately  2  years,  62^  volumes,  and  $7 . 50, 
respectively,  were  then  divided  by  five  to  give  more  convenient  divisions. 
Each  of  these  divisors,  0.4  year,  12^  volumes,  and  $1.50,  was  given  a 
value  of  one  unit.  The  number  of  tunes  the  respective  divisors  were 


72  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

contained  in  the  quantities  which  represented  the  average  education  of 
the  parents,  the  number  of  books  in  the  home,  and  the  monthly  rental 
of  a  family  gave  the  number  of  units  credited  to  each  of  these  items.  The 
figure  representing  the  units  given  a  family  for  an  item  was  squared  and 
the  sum  of  the  squares  for  the  three  items  gave  the  family  index.  This 
can  be  made  clear  best  by  a  concrete  example.  A  family  whose  parents 
have  an  average  education  of  8  years,  which  has  one  hundred  books  in 
the  home,  and  pays  $15  a  month  rent  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the 

TABLE  LXV 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  SIZE  OF  FAMILY  AND  SCHOOLING  OF  CHILDREN,  EFFECT 
OF  SCHOOLING  OF  PARENTS  HAVING  BEEN  ELIMINATED 


Average  Years  of  Schooling 
of  Children 

Number  of  Children  in  Family 

i 

2 

3 

4 

S 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

16            

I 
I 

I 
I 

7 

2 

8 

7 

i 

5 

i 
i 

ie 

I 
2 

I 

5 

8 
6 
8 

i 

i 
i 
i 

I 
2 
2 

I 

5 
5 

5 
i 
6 

2 
2 

14. 

2 



I 

13 

I 

I 

12                  

I 

II 

6 

2 

I 

3 

2 

2 

4 

I 

3 

i 

4 

2 

3 
3 

4 
4 

2 

I 

4 

2 

I 

I 

IO 

2 
2 

i 

I 

I 
2 

8         

6 

4 

I 

r  =—0.06=1=0.05 
n  =«i8 


method.  Dividing  8  years  by  the  educational  divisor,  0.4  year,  gives 
20  units,  which  is  400  when  squared.  Similarly,  one  hundred  books  when 
divided  by  the  library  divisor,  12?  volumes,  gives  8  units,  which  equals  64 
when  squared.  The  rental  index,  $15,  divided  by  the  rental  divisor, 
$i .  50,  gives  10  units,  which,  when  squared,  furnishes  100  more.  The 
sum  of  400,  64,  and  100,  or  564,  is  the  index  of  this  family. 

This  procedure  is  purely  arbitrary,  but  the  writer  thinks  that  the 
resulting  indices  are  quantitatively  representative  of  the  differences  in 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


73 


the  opportunities  presented  to  the  children  by  their  respective  homes. 
This  method  gave  the  best  home  an  index  of  4,289,  while  the  poorest 
received  but  32.  The  possibilities  of  the  best  in  contrast  with  the 
poorest  are,  according  to  the  opinion  of  several  people  acquainted  with 
both  homes,  as  different  as  these  indices  imply.  There  is  a  gulf  between 
them. 

The  coefficients  of  correlation  between  this  family  index  and  the 
education  of  the  children  are  higher  than  those  expressing  any  single 
relationship.  They  are  the  same,  0.73=^=0.02  (Tables  LXVI,  LXVII) 
for  both  sons  and  daughters. 

TABLE  LXVI 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  FAMILY  INDEX  AND  SCHOOLING  OF  SONS 


Years  of 
School- 
ing 

Family  Index  in  Hundreds 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

2O 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

31 

32 

33 

34 

18  

T 

T 

17 

T 

T 

\l  

I 

7 

2 

I 

-> 

15 

T 

14 

T 

T 

T 

T 

13  .. 

T 

T 

T 

T 

T 

T 

T 

12 

3 

i 

r 

T 

T 

7 

T 

II 

IO 

7 

T 

T 

T 

1 

2 
2 

5 

i 

5 
-) 

'i 

i 

6 

14 
13 

4 

i 
5 

2 

7 

2 

7 
5 

2 

i 

I 
T 

I 

T 

I 

T 

I 
T 

...... 

T 

fr" 

T 

I 
? 

I 

5 

T 

i 

T 

I 

4 

i 

0 

3  

r=o. 73^=0. 02 


74 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


g    8 
g 


11 


At 


piOp  t>->p  »0  rj-  to  M   M  O   OiOO  »** 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  75 

SUMMARY  AND   CONCLUSIONS 

The  relationships  presented  in  this  chapter  are  shown  in  Table 

LXVIII. 

TABLE  LXVIII 

Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  sons. . .  0.6 7=*=  0.03 
Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  daughters  o .  68  =»=  o .  02 
Number  of  rooms  per  individual  correlated  with  schooling  of 

sons 0.50=4=0.03 

Number  of  rooms  per  individual  correlated  with  schooling  of 

daughters 0.48=^0.03 

Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  father . .  o .  60  =*=  o .  03 
Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  mother . .  o .  61  =*=  o .  03 

Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  size  of  family — o.  io=*=o.O4 

Rental  values  correlated  with  size  of  family — o.  io=*=o.  04 

Schooling  of  parents  correlated  with  size  of  family —  o.  20=^0.04 

Schooling  of  children,  uncorrected,  correlated  with  size  of  family  —  o.  2o=*=o. 04 
Schooling  of  children,  corrected,  correlated  with  size  of  family . .  —  o .  06  =*=  o .  05 

Schooling  of  sons  correlated  with  family  index o.  73 ±0.02 

Schooling  of  daughters  correlated  with  family  index o.  73 ±0. 02 

The  number  of  books  in  a  home  is  the  best  single  index  of  the  probable 
educational  level  which  the  children  may  expect  to  reach. 

The  number  of  books  in  a  home  is  closely  correlated  with  the  school- 
ing of  the  parents. 

The  various  indices  used  in  this  part  of  the  study  are  more  or  less 
interrelated. 

As  measured  by  the  method  used  here,  size  of  family  has  only  a 
slight  negative  correlation  with  the  schooling  of  the  children. 

SECTION    IV.      OCCUPATIONAL    AND    OTHER    GROUP    RELATIONSHIPS 
OCCUPATIONS   OF  THE  FATHER 

The  occupations  of  the  fathers  (Table  LXIX)  show  that  this  group 
contains  representatives  from  almost  every  stratum  of  the  economic 
life  of  the  community.  Most  of  the  occupations  are  represented  by  too 
small  a  number,  however,  to  furnish  comparisons.  The  first  thirteen 
occupations  will  be  compared  with  respect  to  the  schooling  of  the  fathers, 
the  rent  of  the  homes,  the  number  of  books  in  the  homes,  and  the  school- 
ing of  the  children.1 

1  The  group  "Farmers"  is  not  on  a  par  with  the  others.  Six  of  the  13  fathers  are 
dead,  having  been  deceased  in  some  cases  for  fifteen  years.  All  of  these  families  are 
living  in  town.  Most  of  these  farmers  have  retired  as  far  as  any  active  farm  life  is 
concerned. 


76 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


TABLE  LXIX 
OCCUPATIONS  OF  FATHERS 


Occupation 


No. 
Reported 


Occupation 


Laborer 24 

Carpenter 15 

Retired  farmer 15 

Farmer 13 

Painter  and  paper-hanger ....  8 

Real  estate  and  insurance ....  8 

Machinist 6 

Stationary  engineer 6 

Blacksmith 5 

Grocer 5 

Janitor 5 

Evangelist  and  minister 5 

Merchant 5 

Druggist 4 

Railroad  conductor 3 

Salesman 3 

Physician 3 

Driver  of  ice  wagon 3 

Grain-buyer 2 

Car-repairer 2 

Contractor 2 

Tinner 2 

Railroad  engineer 2 

City  fireman 2 

Printer 2 

Banker 2 

Policeman 2 

Laundryman 2 

Jeweler 2 

Agent  and  solicitor 2 

Carpenter  contractor 2 

Teamster 2 

Teacher 2 

Cement  contractor 2 

Roundhouse  foreman i 

Bank  cashier . 

Mine-owner 

Foundry-owner 

Barber 

Ticket  agent 

Butcher, 

Section  foreman 

County    superintendent    of 

schools 

Musician .  . 


No. 
Reported 


Furnace  contractor 

Lumber  dealer 

Pump-dealer 

Tool-polisher 

Plumber 

Roadster 

Shop  foreman 

Coal-dealer 

Railroad  official 

Grocery  clerk 

Postmaster 

Foreman  for  brick  company .  . 
Clothier      and      dry      goods 

merchant 

Manufacturer 

Optician 

Undertaker 

Road  boss  on  Big  Four 

Horseshoer 

Jailor i 

Superintendent  of  signals  and 

water  service,  Big  Four ....       i 

Roofing  business i 

Carpenter  superintendent ....       i 

Tailor i 

Ditcher i 

Overseer  of  water-main  laying      i 

Implement  dealer i 

Contracting  excavator i 

Dentist i 

Sheriff i 

Veterinary  surgeon i 

Foreman  of  water  service  on 

Big  Four i 

Feed-store  clerk i 

Manager  of  cold  storage  plant      i 

Engine  inspector i 

Drayman i 

Retired  minister i 

Bookkeeper i 

Night  watchman i 

Railroad  fireman i 

Hostler i 

Brickmason i 

Mail-carrier.  .  i 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 
TABLE  LXIX— Continued 


Occupation 

Mail  clerk 

Restaurant  keeper 

House-moving  contractor  . . . 

Deliveryman 

Postal  clerk 

Horse  business . . 


No. 
Reported 

I 

I 
I 
I 
I 

I 


Occupation 


77 


No. 
Reported 


Runs  ice-cream  wagon i 

Itinerant  photographer I 

Justice  of  peace i 

Foreman  for  contractor i 

Cigar-factory  foreman i 

Bricksetter .  .  i 


a)  Occupations  and  education  of  fathers. — The  number  of  individuals 
(Table  LXX)  in  several  of  the  groups  is  too  small  to  furnish  any  very 


TABLE  LXX 


EDUCATION  OF 


YEARS  OF  SCHOOLING 

Laborers 

| 

Retired  Farmers 

Farmers 

Painters  and 
Paper-Hangers 

Real  Estate  and 
Insurance  Men 

Machinists 

>>  0 

1 

3 

O 

i2 

! 

Ministers 

.2 

1 
1 

16  

2 

1C.  . 

I 

2 

14. 

I 

13 

I 

12 

I 

4" 

I 

I 

I 

I 

II  ..      . 

I 

I 

I 

2 

I 

I 

10  

i 

2 

I 

I 

i 

I 

2 

I 

2 

I 

i 

9.  . 

8  

2 

e 

•7 

I 

I 

4. 

i 

I 

I 

7 

r 

I 

2 

2 

2 

2 

i 

6  

8 

I 

I 

2 

•    i 

2 

i 

2 

I 

I 

2 

j 

I 

I 

I 

I 

2  

I 

I 

I 

2 

I  

O  ,  

I 

Median    years    of 
schooling  

6 

8 

IO 

7 

8 

TO* 

7 

7 

6 

8 

7 

ie 

IO 

reliable  conclusions.  The  material,  however,  is  very  suggestive.  It 
appears  that  an  eighth-grade  education  is  the  minimum  for  the  occupa- 
tions of  real  estate  and  insurance  men,  grocers,  and  merchants.  For 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


most  of  the  others  a  seventh-grade  education  is  near  the  minimum. 
Laborers  are  still  lower,  with  an  average  education  of  but  six  years. 
Ministers  are  the  best-schooled  group.  One  of  their  number,  however, 
belongs  to  one  of  the  smaller  denominations  which  cares  little  for  an 
educated  clergy.  He  is  really  a  laborer  by  vocation  and  a  preacher  by 
avocation. 

b)  Occupations  and  rent. — In  this  comparison  (Table  LXXI)  the  re- 
tired farmers,  the  real  estate  and  insurance  men,  the  grocers,  the  minis- 
ters, and  the  merchants  make  the  best  showing.  Laborers  make  the 
poorest.  The  median  rentals  of  the  other  occupational  classes  fall  in 
the  $15  and  $20  groups. 

TABLE  LXXI 


Monthly  Rental  Values  (in  Dollars)  of  Homes  of 

Median 
Rental 

10 

12.50 

IS 

I7.SO 

2O 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

Laborers 

15 
2 

5 

2 

I 

5 

i 

I 

2 

4 

I 

$10 

IS 
30 
IS 

i8-7S 

37.50 
IS 
18-75 
IS 
30 
IS 
25 
35 

Carpenters  
Retired  farmers  

I 
I 
I 

I 

5 

2 

I 

I 

I 

I 

4 

Farmers  

I 
I 

2 

I 

5 

i 

I 

2 
2 

I 

Painters  and    paper- 
hangers  
Real  estate  and  in- 
surance men  

I 

2 

I 

I 

I 

3 

Machinists 

I 

3 
i 

3 

i 

I 
2 

Stationary  engineers  . 
Blacksmiths 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

Grocers  

I 

2 

I 
I 

Janitors 

I 

2 

I 

I 

M  misters 

2 

2 
2 

Merchants 

I 

I 

I 

c)  Occupations  and  number  of  books  in  home. — The  influence  of  a 
scholastic  occupation  appears  here   (Table  LXXII).    The  ministers 
have  libraries  which  correspond  to  their  education  and  occupation.    On 
the  other  hand,  laborers  are  almost  without  libraries,  for  the  average  num- 
ber of  books  in  a  laborer's  home  is  less  than  twenty-five.    This  means 
that  these  homes  have  almost  no  books  other  than  the  Bible,  a  couple 
of  hymn-books,  and  the  children's  schoolbooks.    The  remainder  of  the 
occupational  groups  fall  between  these  extremes  in  a  close  correlation 
with  economic  position. 

d)  Occupations  of  fathers  and  schooling  of  their  children. — In  this  com- 
parison (Tables  LXXIII,  LXXIV)  the  small  number  of  cases  in  some  of 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


79 


the  groups  is  further  complicated  by  the  fact  that  some  of  the  families 
had  more  children  than  others.  Some  families  had  but  one  child,  while 
some  had  eight  or  ten.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  the  medians  obtained 
by  combining  boys  and  girls  are  more  reliable  than  the  medians  for 
either  sex  alone.  This  procedure  shows  the  children  of  real  estate  and 

TABLE  LXXH 


No.  of  Books  in  Homes  of 

Volumes 

Median 
No.  of 
Volumes 

10 

25 

SO 

75 

IOO 

ISO 

200 

250 

300 

350 

400 

500 

600 

Laborers     .             ... 

6 
3 

10 

2 

3 
3 

7. 

2 

5 

2 

6 

I 

3 

•3 

25 
50 
ISO 
50 

87£ 
250 

g, 

50 
75 
50 
350 

IOO 

Carpenters  

i 

I 

Retired  farmers  

2 
? 

3 

i 

I 
I 

2 

I 

Farmers  

i 

Painters  and  paper- 
hangers  

I 

2 
2 

i 

i 

2 

Real  estate  and  insurance 
men 

2 

I 

I 

Machinists 

2 

2 
2 

I 

I 

Stationary  engineers 

I 

2 

2 

I 

Blacksmiths  

I 

I 

Grocers  

I 

I 

Janitors  

I 

2 

I 

i 

Ministers  ....  1  

I 

i 

I 

I 

Merchants  

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

TABLE  LXXIII 


Education  of  Sons  of 

Years  of  Schooling 

Median 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 
I 

10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

17 

18 

Laborers  

3 

3 

2 

7 
3 

2 

9 

2 
2 

A 

I 

I 

I 

8 
10 

8 
10 

13 

7 

rt 

9 

8 

9 
8 
ii 

Carpenters.  ..... 

I 

I 

Retired  Farmers.  . 

I 

5 

2 

I 

2 

I 

2 

I 

2 
4 

I 

I 

... 

2 

I 

I 
I 

I 

Farmers  

2 

Painters    and 
paper-hangers.  . 

I 

I 

I 

Real  estate  and 
insurance  men 

2 

I 

Machinists   .  .  . 

I 

4 

I 

2 

I 

I 

I 

Stationary  engi- 
neers   

Blacksmiths  

i 

I 

2 

I 

Grocers  

I 

2 

2 

Janitors  

? 

2 

T 

Ministers  

T 

? 

T 

T 

Merchants  

T 

T 

T 

? 

So 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 
TABLE  LXXIV 


Education  of  Daughters  of 

Years  of  Schooling 

Me- 
dian 

*§J 

.is! 

"SSa 

3 

4 

s 

6 

7 

8 

Q 

10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

17 

18 

10 

Laborers             

i 

4 

i 

2 

2 

6 
3 

7 
6 

i 

I 

4 

2 

2 

i 

8 
8 

12 

8 
10 

16 
8 
9 
ii 
10 

4» 

12 

I 

II 

8 
10 

'I 

8 
9 

10 

9 
II 

"i 

3 

2 

I 
fi 

2 

3 

Retired  farmers  

3 

Farmers          ...         

6 

3 

2 

9 

I 

i 

Painters  and  paper  gangers  . 
Real    estate   and   insurance 
men  

T 

2 

I 

I 

I 

Machinists 

Stationary  engineers  

2 

I 

I 

Blacksmiths  

i 

3 

2 

2 

I 

Janitors  

2 

I 

I 

T 

I 

Ministers   

I 

I 

2 

Merchants 

2 

insurance  men  to  be  the  best  educated.  Next  come  the  children  of 
merchants,  retired  farmers,  ministers,  grocers,  and  painters  and  paper- 
hangers.  The  most  poorly  educated  are  the  children  of  laborers. 

THE  TRUANT  OFFICER'S  REPORT 

It  was  thought  that  it  might  prove  interesting  and  perhaps  instruc- 
tive to  examine  those  families  which  have  had  to  be  visited  by  the  truant 
officer.  The  woman  who  occupies  this  position  in  Urbana  has  been  in 
charge  of  the  work  for  twelve  years.  Through  the  performance  of  the 
duties  of  her  office  she  has  become  acquainted  with  those  families  whose 
children  were  of  legal  school  age  but  did  not  attend  school  as  the  statutes 
require.  The  writer  took  a  list  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  the 
families  that  furnished  the  data  which  have  been  presented  in  Part  IV 
to  this  woman  and  requested  her  to  mark  all  the  families  which  she  had 
visited  hi  her  official  capacity.  This  she  very  kindly  did.  These 
families  were  then  studied,  with  respect  to  the  schooling  of  the  parents, 
the  number  of  books  in  the  home,  the  rental  value  of  the  home,  and  the 
schooling  of  the  children,  and  compared  with  the  positions  of  the  remain- 
der of  the  families  as  to  these  items.  It  is  probable  that  there  are  other 
families  included  in  this  study  who  moved  to  Urbana  after  their  chil- 
dren were  fourteen  years  of  age  or  older  who  would  have  been  included 
in  the  group  that  furnished  work  for  the  truant  officer  if  they  had  always 
lived  in  Urbana. 

For  convenience  in  discussing  the  data  the  families  were  divided  as 
follows:  Group  A,  those  families  who  have  been  visited  in  an  official 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


81 


way  by  the  Urbana  truant  officer — 30  families;  Group  B,  those  who  have 
not  received  any  official  visits  from  the  truant  officer  since  they  have 
lived  in  Urbana — 204  families. 

a)  Education  of  parents. — The  parents  of  Group  A  are  less  exten- 
sively schooled  than  the  parents  of  Group  B  (Table  LXXV).    The 

TABLE  LXXV 
EDUCATION  OF  FATHERS  AND  MOTHERS 


YEARS  OF  SCHOOLING 

GROUP  A 

GROUP  B 

Fathers 

Mothers 

Fathers 

Mothers 

20         .  .        ...          

I 
I 
I 
I 
4 
4 
6 

2 
21 
13 
23 

3 

24 

22 

7 
3 

2 

4 

10 

18  

17  

16  

je 

I 
3 

2 

33 
5 
25 

22 

63 
21 

14 
6 

14. 

I 

l-i 

12 

3 

I 

II    .               . 

10  

2 

2 

2 

4 
9 

i 

2 

7 

8  

6 
6 

7 

i 
i 

2 

I 

7  

6  

4- 

•2 

2  

3 

I  

O  

I 

7-33  years 

I 
7.  44  years 

i 
8.78  years 

Median  schooling  

8.85  years 

Difference  between  medians  for  fathers,  i.45=*=o.  25  years 
Difference  between  medians  for  mothers,  1.41=^=0.35  years 


fathers  in  the  homes  which  received  the  official  visits  of  the  truant 
officer  went  to  school  i .  45  years  less  on  the  average  than  the  fathers  in 
those  homes  which  did  not  receive  an  official  visit  from  the  truant  officer. 
They  received  a  median  schooling  of  7 . 33  years  as  compared  with  8 . 78 
years  for  the  second  group.  The  median  of  Group  A  mothers  is  7 . 44 
years;  of  Group  B  mothers  it  is  8.85  years. 


82 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


b)  Number  of  books  in  home. — The  median  library  of  Group  A,  50 
volumes,  is  one-half  the  size  of  the  median  library  of  Group  B  (Table 
LXXVI). 

c)  Rental  values  of  home. — Group  B  families  live  in  a  much  better 
class  of  homes  than  Group  A  families  (Table  LXXVII).    The  median 
home  in  Group  A  has  a  rental  value  of  $12.50  per  month,  while  the 
median  home  in  the  other  group  would  rent  for  $20. 


TABLE  LXXVI 
NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOMES 


TABLE  LXXVII 
MONTHLY  RENTAL  VALUES  OF  HOMES 


No.  of  Volumes 

Group  A 

Group  B 

o—  10  

8 

H 

25  

6 

37 

CQ 

8 

38 

7S.  . 

i 

12 

IOO  

2 

38 

ISO.  . 

I 

14 

2OO 

2 

27 

2^0 

IO 

300 

I 

8 

3  SO.  . 

2 

400  

4 

CQO 

I 

4' 

600 

I 

Median  

SO 

IOO 

Difference  between  medians,  50=^=10  vols. 


Group  A 

Group  B 

$10  

8 

18 

12.  "JO.  . 

IS 

IS-  • 

8 

45 

17    SO 

7 

2O 

2 

28 

22.  SO.  . 

•2 

2S.  . 

I 

15 

27    CQ 

I 

3O 

I 

26 

2t     . 

16 

4O  

12 

At 

I 

4 

ro 

12 

60  

2 

Median  

$I2.5O 

$20 

Difference 
$0.70 


between    medians,    $7.50= 


d)  Education  of  the  children. — The  differences  between  the  schooling 
of  the  children  of  Group  A  and  Group  B  (Table  LXXVIII)  are  somewhat 
greater  than  the  parental  difference  in  education  already  noted.    The 
sons  of  Group  A  received  an  average  of  7.35  years  of  schooling,  while 
those  of  Group  B  received  an  average  of  8 . 94  years.    The  daughters  of 
the  first  group  averaged  8.15  years,  while  those  of  the  second  group 
averaged  10.16  years. 

e)  Causes  of  truancy. — The  truant  officer  gave  a  rough  classification 
of  the  causes  of  truancy.    In  five  homes  the  main  cause  seemed  to  be 
indifference  on  the  part  of  the  parents.     In  eleven  others  poverty  was 
the  thing  which  was  most  evident.    The  children  from  such  homes  did 
not  have  the  clothes  necessary  to  enable  them  to  attend  school,  or  the 
parents  kept  them  out  to  work.    With  the  remainder  the  causes  were 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


more  complex  and,  in  some  cases,  outside  of  the  home.  In  one  case  a 
boys'  club  was  an  important  factor.  In  another  an  unsympathetic 
teacher,  combined  with  rigid  application  of  school  rules  and  regulations, 
proved  to  be  almost  more  than  home  and  truant  officer  could  counteract. 
In  other  cases  the  cause  was  the  slackening  of  home  supervision  until 
the  parents  did  not  know  what  the  boy  or  girl  was  doing.  Truancy, 

TABLE  LXXVIII 
EDUCATION  OF  SONS  AND  DAUGHTERS 


YEARS  OF  SCHOOLING 

GROUP  A 

GROUP  B 

Sons 

Daughters 

Sons 

Daughters 

10.  . 

I 

18 

2 
2 
6 
2 

8 

19 
13 

12 

18 

40 
26 
14 

6 

2 

17 

16 

I 

18 
3 
4 

36 
14 
19 

12 
38 
24 
13 

6 

1C 

I 

14 

H 

I 

3 

i 

3 

12  

I 

II  

IO  s  

I 
2 

8 

10 

8 

i 

o 

1  

10 

8 
4 
4 

7 

6 

4 

2 

2  

i  

o  

I 

10.  16  years 

Median  education 

7.35  years 

8.15  years 

8  .  94  years 

Difference  between  median  education  of  sons,  1.49  ±0.22  years 
Difference  between  median  education  of  daughters,  2.01=*=  0.30  years 

however,  did  not  lead  to  early  elimination  in  those  cases  where  the  better 
homes  were  concerned.  Almost  without  exception  the  children  from  the 
better  homes — they  can  be  told  by  their  superior  status  in  schooling, 
library,  or  rent — continued  into  the  high  school  and,  in  some  cases,  into 
college. 

POVERTY  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 

An  attempt  was  made  to  measure  the  amount  of  poverty  and  desti- 
tution present  in  the  234  families  through  the  records  of  the  United 


84  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

Charities'  office.  A  conference  with  the  superintendent  disclosed  the 
fact  that  only  three  of  these  families  had  received  organized  aid  during 
the  existence  of  the  local  United  Charities  organization,  a  period  of 
two  years.  These  families  were  the  families  of  two  laborers  and  a  car- 
penter. The  parents  were  poorly  educated,  as  were  the  children.  They 
were  not,  however,  the  most  poorly  or  the  least  educated  of  those 
studied.  Several  other  families  were  worse  off  educationally  and 
economically,  but  were  self-supporting.  The  writer  estimated,  judging 
from  the  view  obtained  through  the  front  door  when  gathering  the  data, 
that  about  10  per  cent  of  the  homes  feel  the  pinch  of  poverty  at  times. 
This  condition  was  always  accompanied  by  the  absence  of  the  father 
from  the  home  or  by  poorly  educated  parents. 

CAUSES  OF  ELIMINATION 

After  a  part  of  the  data  had  been  gathered,  it  occurred  to  the  writer 
that  it  might  be  of  value  to  ask  the  causes  of  the  failure  of  the  children 
to  secure  as  good  an  education  as  it  seemed  that  they  might  have  done. 
Accordingly  questions  were  asked  to  secure  this  information.  The 
results  of  such  a  crude  method  cannot  be  accurate,  but  they  are  sug- 
gestive. The  causes  of  elimination  are  given  in  Table  LXXIX.  It  is 

TABLE  LXXIX 

Had  to  work 4 

School  too  far  away i 

Moved  about 2 

Failed  in  studies 2 

Disliked  school 2 

Sickness 5 

Did  not  want  to  go  to  school;  could  have  gone 16 

Country  schools 12 

recognized  that  some  of  these  replies  may  have  been  given  merely  to 
please  the  person  asking  the  questions.  The  frankness  and  readiness 
with  which  the  replies  were  given,  however,  leads  the  writer  to  think  that 
these  replies  were  the  usual  ones  that  these  people  made  to  similar  ques- 
tions on  other  occasions.  The  major  roles  which  opportunity  and  mere 
whims  on  the  part  of  the  children  played  in  determining  the  lengths  of 
their  schooling  leaves  but  a  minor  part  for  economic  pressure.  Probably 
but  few  of  these  poorly  educated  children  could  not  have  gone  to  school 
for  a  year  or  two  more  if  those  in  the  home  had  felt  the  value  of  such  a 
course  and  if  there  had  been  the  opportunity. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


EVIDENCES  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  MOLDING 

It  has  been  a  common  observation  of  teachers  and  others  that  the 
children  of  large  families  are  not  all  alike  in  their  characteristics.  Physi- 
cally there  is  much  variability.  This  is  likewise  true  when  intellectual 
traits  are  considered.  In  this  group  of  234  families,  however,  it  was 

TABLE  LXXX* 

ENVIRONMENTAL  MOLDING 
DISTRIBUTION  OF  CHILDREN  BY  FAMILIES  AND  EDUCATION 


Family  No. 

Years  of  Schooling 

o 

i 

3 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

I    

7 

2  

5 

I 

e 

r 

4 

4 

2 

6  

I 

7 

4 

I 

8        .           

4 

T 

2 

2 

I 

10   1  

T 

6 

ii  

? 

? 

12  

3 

T 

13 

2 

2 

14. 

2 

2 

** 

7 

I 

16  

3 

2 

17 

2 

2 

18  

? 

IQ.  . 

2 

2 

2O 

I 

4 

2 

7 

2 

3 

T 

21 

i 

22  

7 

T 

22 

I 

I 

2 

24. 

2 

3 

I 

2C  .  . 

I 

2 

26  

2 

2 

27  

? 

T 

I 

28  

T 

T 

I 

'2O 

I 

2 

3 

i 

3 
3 

i 

3 

2 

I 

2.O 

2 

•71 

I 

32  

T 

? 

T 

33  

T 

T 

T 

T 

34  

2 

T 

T 

*  This  table  should  be  read  thus:  Family  No.  i  had  seven  children,  all  of  whom  received  6  years  of 
schooling;  family  No.  10  had  eight  children,  one  received  11  years  of  schooling,  six,  12  years,  and  one, 
1 6  years. 


86  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

observed  that  there  was  frequently  a  marked  uniformity  in  the -amounts 
of  schooling  which  the  children  of  a  family  received.  In  an  attempt 
to  learn  how  frequently  these  phenomena  appeared,  all  families  which 
contained  four  or  more  children  who  had  completed  their  schooling  were 
examined.  There  were  thirty-four  such  families  (Table  LXXX).  In 
more  than  one-half  of  them,  all  the  children  of  a  family  received  nearly 
the  same  amounts  of  schooling.  In  many  cases  where  there  was  vari- 
ability it  could  often  be  explained  by  a  change  in  the  environment,  such  as 
resulted  from  moving  from  one  town  to  another.  In  family  No.  i  the 
children  attended  a  country  school  which  offered  only  limited  oppor- 
tunities. The  children  of  family  No.  2  attended  a  German  parochial 
school  which  offered  but  seven  years  of  schooling. 

It  is  probable  that  the  children  of  these  thirty-four  families  are  as 
variable  in  native  characteristics  as  other  children.  Hence  the  uni- 
formity present  must  be  explained  by  crediting  it  to  the  coercive  effect 
of  the  home  and  community  environment. 


SUMMARY  AND   CONCLUSIONS 


Ninety-eight  different  occupations  were  represented  among  the 
234  families. 

One-tenth  of  the  fathers  were  common  laborers. 

Y/  Occupations  of  fathers  and  home  conditions,  such  as  schooling,  size 
of  library,  and  rental  values  of  homes,  were  closely  related. 

Truancy,  when  due  to  specific  home  causes,  was  found  mainly  in 
the  homes  of  the  poorer  and  less  educated. 

Poverty  and  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  parents  were  the  most 
frequent  causes  of  truancy. 

Only  three  of  the  families  received  organized  charitable  assistance 
during  the  past  two  years.  About  10  per  cent  of  the  homes  probably 
felt  the  pinch  of  poverty  at  times.  All  these  were  homes  of  poorly 
educated  parents  or  had  experienced  a  break  in  the  home  life  due  to 
death  or  domestic  troubles. 

It  is  probable  that  lack  of  an  opportunity  or  the  lack  of  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  value  of  education  by  those  in  the  home  was  responsible, 
hi  the  main,  for  most  early  eliminations. 

The  home  and  community  environment  "molded"  some  of  the 
large  families  to  a  marked  uniformity  with  respect  to  the  number  of 
years  of  schooling  which  the  children  received. 


PART  V 
THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  INFLUENCES 

The  data  presented  in  this  part  of  the  report  were  secured  through 
personal  visits  to  32  homes  in  which  adopted  children  had  been  reared. 
In  one  of  these  homes  the  adopted  child  had  been  reared  in  the  country; 
the  data  about  this  individual  were  rejected  on  further  consideration  as 
not  being  comparable  with  the  others.  The  remaining  31  homes  were 
represented  by  39  adopted  children.  While  the  writer  was  gathering 
the  information  it  was  discovered  that  7  of  these  children  were  the  off- 
spring of  relatives  of  the  foster-parents.  To  eliminate  entirely  the 
factor  of  heredity  these  7  were  discarded.  This  left  28  homes  containing 
32  foster-children,  none  of  whom  was  related  to  his  or  her  foster-parents. 

The  main  original  data,  exclusive  of  facts  regarding  occupations  of 
the  parents,1  are  presented  here  (Table  LXXXI). 

Date  of  Birth  of  Children. — These  adopted  children  were  born  at 
various  periods  during  a  relatively  long  stretch  of  time.  Thirty-four 
years  elapsed  between  the  birth  of  the  first  and  the  birth  of  the  last. 
It  follows  that  educational  opportunities  have  changed  much  during  the 
different  decades  in  which  they  have  been  educated.  It  is  also  true 
that  the  foster-parents,  reared  a  generation  ago,  had  a  more  restricted 
educational  opportunity  than  those  of  the  present  generation.  This 
wide  range  of  time  must  be  kept  in  mind  when  the  relationship  between 
the  education  of  the  parents  and  the  education  of  the  children  is  con- 
sidered. The  educational  opportunities  of  the  children  have  been  more 
nearly  constant  than  those  of  the  parents,  for  the  state  university  has 
been  in  full  operation  during  the  entire  period  that  any  of  these  children 
might  have  attended. 

Age  when  adopted. — In  28  of  the  29  cases  in  which  the  facts  were 
available  the  children  were  adopted  at  or  before  the  age  of  twelve 
(Table  LXXXII).  Nine  were  adopted  before  they  were  two  years  of 
age.  The  date  of  adoption,  however,  was  not  always  the  date  when 
the  foster-home  assumed  control  of  the  child. 

1  This  information  was  collected  with  the  explicit  understanding  that  it  would 
be  treated  confidentially.  By  presenting  the  occupations  separately  it  is  thought 
that  no  confidences  are  violated. 

87 


88 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


t   t  M  1   *« 


Years  of 
chooling 


.s 


I^O  ^ 

OOOOC 


t%% 
S  g  o 


Is 
fi* 


* 


00  00  O  O  O   0  rJ-00  t^OO  N  00  w  000   000  w 


0000  O<0  O 


•00000000  O  OOO  00 


c/Dac«crtcrc/2cn<*>c/: 


c/Jc/Jc/j  &Pc/5  c/?  c/:  c/3  g> 


w  53    :  c/i  w  CAJ  c^  iyj  jjc^wyic^cocwcwc^  tj 


r^OO  ON  C3   M  «  PO  •<*•  uiO  r^ 


PO  •*  >OO  t^.00   O  O   M  i 
WMWWMWWCOCO. 


Age,  Years 
I    ... 

No. 

8 

2 

I 

I 

5' 

C.  . 

.     7 

6  

.     3 

7.  . 

.     2 

PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  89 

In  a  number  of  cases  the  court  records  showed  that  the  child  had 
been  living  with  the  foster-parents  for  years  before  legal  adoption  was 
effected.  It  is  probable  that  this  was  true  in  other  cases,  although  no 
statement  of  the  fact  appeared  in  the  adoption  records. 

TABLE  LXXXII 
AGE  WHEN  ADOPTED 

Age,  Years  No. 

8 ; 2 

9 o 

IO O 

II 2 

12 I 

24 I 


Reasons  for  adoption. — These  children  were  adopted  because  they 
were  public  charges  or  were  about  to  become  so.  Enough  was  told  by 
the  court  records  to  make  it  plain  that  the  history  of  each  case  was  the 

TABLE  LXXXIII 

CAUSES  OF  DEPENDENCY* 

No.  of  Cases 

Parents  dead 7 

Mother  dead 7 

Father  dead 2 

Father  dead,  mother  abandoned  child 2 

Mother  dead,  father  abandoned  child 3 

Father  dead,  mother  remarried i 

Parents  unable  to  support i 

Father  dead,  mother  unable  to  support i 

Mother  dead,  father  unable  to  support i 

Abandoned  by  parents i 

Foundling 2 

Illegitimate 2 

*  These  are  condensed  from  the  remarks  found  on  the  court  records  under  the  section  devoted  to 
this  subject. 

history  of  a  tragedy  (Table  LXXXIII).  The  records  were  brief  and 
meager,  but  they  were  all  of  the  same  general  tone,  such  as  tales  of  the 
death  of  father  or  mother,  inefficiency  on  the  part  of  father  or  mother, 


go  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

and  desertion  of  an  unwelcome  child.  In  other  words,  these  children, 
almost  without  exception,  were  born  under  the  most  unpromising  con- 
ditions, conditions  which  would  suggest  weakness  of  hereditary  stock. 
There  is  nothing  in  their  origins  to  indicate  a  single  superior  child.  Not 
a  single  home  left  property  for  the  support  of  the  child.  All  of  the 
parents  were  poor.  They  were  adopted  into  homes  which  were  childless 
or  into  the  homes  of  relatively  wealthy  parents  who,  after  their  own  chil- 
dren had  grown  up,  still  desired  to  have  a  child  in  the  household.  Three 
children,  including  those  adopted,  represented  the  largest  number  found 
in  any  of  these  homes. 

Nativity  of  foster-parents. — Most  of  the  parents  were  native  born. 
Those  who  were  not  were  German,  English,  or  Irish. 

Occupations  of  foster  parents. — A  rather  wide  array  of  occupations  was 
represented  by  the  foster-parents  (Table  LXXXIV).  Only  one  father 

TABLE  LXXXIV 
OCCUPATION  OF  FOSTER-PARENTS 

Occupation  No.        Occupation  No 

Retired  farmer 3      Merchant i 

Minister 3      Painting  contractor i 

Car-inspector i      Pharmacist  and  grocer i 


Carpenter 

Carpenter  and  contractor .  . 

Cigar-maker 

Farmer  and  school-teacher . 
Fruit  farmer  and  carpenter 
Garage-owner 


Railroad  engineer i 

Rural  mail-carrier i 

Section  foreman i 

Shop  foreman i 

Shop  helper i 

Tailor i 

Grocer i      Teacher  and  telegraph  operator .  .  i 

Insurance  man i      Traveling  salesman i 

Laborer i      University  professor i 

was  a  common  laborer.  The  remainder  were  distributed  among  the  vari- 
ous business,  industrial,  and  professional  activities  of  this  community. 

Education  of  foster-parents  and  of  children. — The  relationship  which 
exists  between  the  education  of  the  children  and  the  education  of  the 
foster-parents  is  not  very  close,  being  only  o .  3  2  =*=  o .  1 1  (Table  LXXXV) . 
The  lack  of  opportunity  under  which  some  of  the  older  parents  were 
reared  may  be  responsible  for  this  in  a  large  measure. 

When  the  amounts  of  schooling  which  the  foster-children  received 
are  examined,  it  is  seen  that  they  fared  very  well.  One-half  of  these 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


children  received  a  high-school  education  or  better,  and  only  4  of  them 
failed  to  go  to  the  high  school  for  at  least  a  few  months.  In  comparison 
with  the  average  number  of  years  of  schooling  which  their  foster-parents 
received,  22  of  these  children  received  more  education,  i  the  same,  and 
6  less.  When  their  origins  are  taken  into  consideration  it  seems  that 
a  large  amount  of  credit  must  be  given  to  the  new  environment  into  which 
adoption  transplanted  them. 

TABLE  LXXXV 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  EDUCATION  OF  FOSTER-PARENTS*  AND  EDUCATION  OF 
ADOPTED  CHILDREN 


Years  of 
Schooling 

Average  Years  of  Schooling  of  Parents 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

II 

12 

13 

14 

IS 

16 

18 

I 

17 

16 

I 

2 

I 

I  e 

2 

14. 

I 

J7 

I 

I 

I 

12 

I 

I 

2 

I 

II 

' 

2 

I 

IO 

I 

o 

I 

I 

I 

2 

I 

8  

I 

7 

I 

6 

I 

I 

r  =0.32  = 
n  =30 


=0.11 


*  The  education  of  the  mother  is  used  where  the  average  could  not  be  found  because  the  education 
of  the  other  parent  was  unknown. 

Number  of  books  in  home  and  education  of  adopted  children. — There 
is  a  slightly  closer  relationship  between  the  education  of  the  adopted 
children  and  the  number  of  books  in  the  home  than  the  previous  cor- 
relation (Table  LXXXVI) .  The  coefficient  is  o .  42  =*=  o .  10.  In  one  case 
at  least  this  is  lowered  by  the  fact  that  a  library  had  been  inherited. 

Rental  value  of  home  and  education  of  adopted  children. — The  main 
reason  for  the  adoption  of  these  children  was  an  economic  one.  They 
were  dependent.  If  these  homes  were  much  alike  in  their  social  atti- 
tudes, the  education  of  the  adopted  children  was  determined  largely  by 
the  economic  opportunities  of  the  foster-homes.  This  seems  to  have 
been  the  case  for  the  relationship  between  rental  value  of  home  and 


92  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

education  of  children  is  higher  than  the  preceding  one.    It  is  o .  60  =*=  o .  08 
(Table  LXXXVII). 

TABLE  LXXXVI 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  NUMBER  OF  BOOKS  IN  HOME  AND  EDUCATION  OF  ADOPTED 

CHILDREN 


Years  of  Schooling 

Number  of  Books  in  Home 

10 

25 

SO 

75 

zoo 

150 

200 

250 

300 

350 

400 

450 

500 

18  

17  

16  

2 

I 

I 

15  

2 

14  

I 

13.  . 

I 

I 

12  

I 

I 
2 

I 

2 

II  

I 

I 

10  

I 

I 

g 

I 

I 

7  

I 

6  

I 

I 

r  =0.42=^0.10 
«  =29 


TABLE  LXXXVII 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  RENTAL  VALUE  OF  HOME  AND  EDUCATION  OF  ADOPTED 

CHILDREN 


Years  of  Schooling 

Rental  Value  of  Home  per  Month,  Dollars 

IS 

20 

25 

30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

18 

I 

17 

16              

I 

2 

I 
I 

jr 

I 

14. 

I 

H 

2 

12    

I 
I 

I 

2 

I 

I 

II 

I 

IO 

I 

2 
2 

I 

I 

I 

8 

7 

I 

6 

2 

r  =o.6o=fco.o8 
n  =29 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 


93 


Family  index  and  education  of  adopted  children. — The  family  index 
was  calculated  by  the  same  method  that  was  used  in  Part  IV.  The 
resulting  relationship  is  a  combination  of  the  three  preceding  ones.  This 
device  gave  a  coefficient  of  correlation  of  o .  54=*=  o .  09  (Table  LXXXVIII) 
between  family  index  and  education  of  adopted  children. 

TABLE  LXXXVIII 
CORRELATION  BETWEEN  FAMILY  INDEX  AND  EDUCATION  OF  ADOPTED  CHILDREN 


Years  of 
Schooling 

Family  Index  in  Hundreds 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

ii 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

2O 

21 

43 

18 

I 

17 

11  

I 

2 

I 

JC 

I 

I 

14. 

I 

13 

? 

12 

I 

I 

T 

I 

II    . 

I 

2 

T 

IO 

I 

I 

I 

T 

I 

T 

g 

I  - 

I 

I 

6 

I 

I 

r  =0.54=1=0.09 
n  =29 


Financial  status  of  home  and  education  of  adopted  children. — These 
families  were  divided  into  three  groups  according  to  the  estimates  of 
financial  status  given  by  those  who  gave  the  other  information.  The 
three  groups  were  average,  between  average  and  well-to-do,  and  well- 
to-do.  These  groupings  are  only  approximations,  but  the  resulting 
relationship  proved  to  be  unusually  high,  being  0.76=*=  0.05  (Table 
LXXXIX). 

Social  viewpoint  of  foster-homes. — In  one  respect  all  these  homes  were 
alike.  The  parents  had  a  yearning  for  children  which  was  not  satisfied 
by  offspring  of  their  own  and  which  led  them  to  feel  a  responsibility 
when  they  adopted  a  child.  They  desired  to  do  the  best  they  could  for 
this  child,  and,  since  education  is  recognized  as  the  clearest  expression 
of  opportunity,  they  gave  the  child,  in  most  cases,  as  much  as  they  could. 
In  a  few  cases,  however,  the  children  took  matters  into  their  own  hands 


94 


THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 


and  terminated  their  schooling  before  their  parents  wished  it  to  end. 
It  is  possible,  also,  that  the  poor  native  ability  of  the  child  was  the  cause 
of  one  early  elimination.  The  writer  is  quite  certain  that  one  child — 
one  of  the  seven  who  were  not  considered  because  they  were  children  of 

TABLE  LXXXIX 

CORRELATION  BETWEEN  FINANCIAL  STATUS  OF  HOME  AND  EDUCATION  or  ADOPTED 

CHILDREN 


Years  of  Schooling 

Rank  of  Financial  Status 

B 

A-B 

A 

18 

I 

17    . 

16  

4 

i 
I 
3 

2 
2 

1C.  . 

I 

14. 

I? 

12  .... 

I 

I 
2 

I 

II  

IO  

n 

4 

2 

I 
2 

I 

8:;  

7  .  . 

6 

r  =0.76=^0.05 
n  =30 

relatives — reached  its  upper  educable  limit  with  the  first  year  of  high 
school.  But  all  things  considered,  it  is  probable  that  a  common  social 
standard  made  these  homes  strive  to  educate  the  children  under  their 
care  to  as  great  a  degree  as  the  nature  of  the  child  and  their  own  resources 
permitted. 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

These  adopted  children  were  born  in  homes  where  the  parents  were 
very  poor,  as  a  class,  and  the  children  were  dependent,  or  about  to  become 
so,  at  the  time  they  were  taken  into  the  foster-homes. 

Most  of  them  were  taken  into  the  foster-homes  at  an  early  age. 
None  was  older  than  twelve  when  taken  into  the  foster-home. 

They  were  adopted  into  homes  which  in  most  cases  gave  them 
superior  opportunities. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  95 

They  received  a  superior  education  as  a  class.  One-half  received  a 
high-school  education  or  better,  and  22  of  the  29  received  more  educa- 
tion than  the  average  education  of  their  foster-parents. 

The  coefficients  of  correlation  presented  are  summed  up  in  Table  XC. 

TABLE  XC 

Schooling  of  foster-parents  correlated  with  schooling  of  adopted 

children 0.32=^0.11 

Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  adopted 

children 0.42=1=0.10 

Rental  value  of  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  adopted 

children o.6o=*=o.o8 

Family  index  correlated  with  schooling  of  adopted  children o.  54  =±=0.09 

Financial  status  correlated  with  schooling  of  adopted  children .  .    o.  76  =±=0.05 

It  is  probable  that  environment  determined  the  amounts  of  schooling 
which  29  out  of  the  30  children  received.  It  is  possible  that  the  environ- 
ment, and  not  poor  native  ability,  was  responsible  for  the  early  elimina- 
tion of  the  thirtieth. 

The  schooling  of  adopted  children  was  closely  correlated  with  the  con- 
ditions, especially  financial,  of  the  homes  into  which  they  were  adopted. 
This  certainly  suggests  that  environment  exerts  a  pronounced,  if  not  a 
determining,  influence  on  the  number  of  years  of  schooling  which  children 
receive. 

Adopted  children  received  as  good  an  education,  on  the  average,  as 
the  children  of  town-dwelling  parents  studied  in  Part  III.  Their  foster- 
homes  were  very  similar,  in  economic,  social,  and  educational  charac- 
teristics, to  the  city  homes  of  this  high-school  group.  In  comparison 
with  the  children  of  Part  IV — children  from  average  Urbana  homes — 
adopted  children  received  over  three  years  more  schooling. 


PART  VI 
GENERAL  SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

Numerous  coefficients  of  correlation  of  varying  degrees  of  reliability 
have  been  presented  in  the  various  sections  of  the  study.  These  may 
be  summarized,  grouped  according  to  the  sources  of  the  data,  as  shown 
in  Table  XCI. 

These  facts,  and  others  which  cannot  be  so  readily  summarized,  when 
taken  as  a  whole,  point  to  a  number  of  general  conclusions.  Other  gen- 
eralizations of  a  more  specific  nature  are  supported  by  facts  presented 
here  and  there  throughout  the  study.  In  addition,  there  are  a  number 
of  inferences  and  suggestions  which  seem  to  the  writer  to  follow  logically 
from  a  consideration  of  the  data,  although  it  cannot  be  said  that  they 
are  proved  conclusively.  The  interpretations  will  therefore  be  divided 
into  three  groups,  general  conclusions,  specific  conclusions,  and  inferences 
and  suggestions. 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS 

i.  The  most  important  conclusion,  supported  by  the  study  as  a 
whole,  is  that  there  is  a  close  relationship  between  the  advantages  of  a 
home,  its  educational,  economic,  and  social  stations,  and  the  number  of 
years  of  schooling  which  its  children  receive.  This  conclusion  is  sup- 
ported by  the  pioneer  study  made  in  Decatur;  by  the  facts  gathered 
from  the  high-school  pupils  of  Centralia,  Champaign,  Gibson  City,  and 
Rochelle;  by  the  information  secured  through  the  personal  canvass 
made  in  Urbana;  and  by  the  results  of  the  study  of  adopted  children. 

It  might  be  worth  while  to  discuss  here  the  differences  between  these 
various  parts  of  the  study.  The  coefficients  of  correlation  for  the  high- 
school  group,  Part  III,  are  lower  than  those  for  the  group  which  contains 
representatives  of  all  classes,  Part  IV;  while  the  group  of  adopted  chil- 
dren, Part  V,  gives  indications  of  a  combination  of  the  characteristics  of 
both  the  other  groups.  This  is  not  surprising  when  the  groups  are 
examined  more  closely.  The  high-school  homes,  Part  III,  contain  the 
upper  economic,  educational,  and  social  levels  of  the  communities  studied. 
This  has  resulted  in  the  selection  of  those  families  which  have  favored 
a  high-school  education  for  their  children.  The  less  exact  nature  of 
the  data  furnished  by  the  high-school  pupils  also  tends  to  reduce  the 

96 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS 
TABLE  XCI 


97 


Correlations  from  High-School  Data 


Schooling  of  Sons 


Schooling  of 
Daughters 


Schooling  of  parents 0.45=^=0.03  0.42=^0.03 

Schooling  of  farm  parents 0.35=1=0.03  0.47=1=0.07 

Schooling  of  town  parents 0.30=^=0.04  0.35=1=0.04 

Schooling  of  father 0.44=1=0.03 

Schooling  of  mother 0.43=1=0.03 

Rental  values 0.40=1=0.04  0.24=1=0.04 

Number  of  books  in  homes 0.39=1=0.04  0.18=1=0.04 

Correlations  from  Urbana  Data  Schooling  of  Sons 

Schooling  of  father 0.47=^0.03         0.56=^0.03 

Schooling  of  mother 0.55=1=0.03         0.60=1=0.03 

Schooling  of  parents 0.65=^0.03         0.62=1=0.03 

Schooling  of  better-educated  parent 0.60=1=0.03  

Schooling  of  more  poorly  educated  parent o. 57=1=0.03  

Rental  values  of  home 0.63=1=0.03         0.64=^0.03 

Personal  property  assessment 0.47=1=0.04         0.52=1=0.04 

Real  estate  assessment 0.63=1=0.04         0.58=1=0.04 

Number  of  books  in  home 0.67=1=0.03         0.68=1=0.03 

Number  of  rooms  per  individual 0.50=1=0.03         0.48=1=0.03 

Schooling  of  father  correlated  with  schooling  of  mother 0.65=^0.03 

Schooling  of  parents  correlated  with  progress  of  sons 0.37=1=0.07 

Schooling  of  parents  correlated  with  progress  of  daughters o.  22=1=0. 06 

Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  father 0.60=1=0.03 

Number  of  books  in  home  correlated  with  schooling  of  mother 0.61=1=0.03 

Correlations  with  Size  of  Family 

Number  of  books  in  home.  . — o.  10=1=0.04 

Rental  values — o.  10=1=0.04 

Schooling  of  parents — o.  20=1=0.04 

Schooling  of  children — 

Uncorrected — o.  20=1=0.04 

Corrected  for  schooling  of  parent —0.06=1=0.05 

Schooling  of  sons  correlated  with  family  index o.  73=1=0.02 

Schooling  of  daughters  correlated  with  family  index o.  73  =1=0. 02 

Correlations  with  Schooling  of  Adopted  Children 

Schooling  of  foster-parents 0.32=1=0.  n 

Number  of  books  in  home 0.42=^=0. 10 

Rental  values 0.60=1=0.08 

Family  index 0.54=1=0.09 

Financial  status 0.76=1=0.05 


98  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

correlation  coefficients  for  Part  III.  The  correlations  of  Part  IV,  which 
contains  the  general  sampling  from  Urbana,  are  less  influenced  by  the 
variations  in  families,  because  more  varied  economic,  educational,  and 
social  levels  of  the  community  were  studied.  The  data  are  also  more 
nearly  accurate.  The  education  of  the  foster-parents  of  the  adopted 
children  resembles  in  amount  that  of  the  parents  of  the  high-school 
group.  The  especial  importance  of  the  economic  factor,  however,  as  a 
cause  for  the  adoption  of  children  is  revealed  in  the  high  coefficient  of 
correlation  found  in  Part  V  between  rent,  or  financial  status,  and  educa- 
tion. This  phase  resembles  the  general  selection  of  Part  IV.  As  a 
whole  there  is  a  substantial  agreement  between  the  various  classes  of 
data.  All  point  in  the  same  direction. 

2.  Another  conclusion,  supported  by  various  sections  in  particular 
and  by  the  combined  data  in  general,  is  that  environmental  influences 
more  often  caused  a  child  to  stop  attending  school  than  did  lack  of 
ability  to  do  the  work.  This  conclusion  is  supported  especially  by  the 
study  of  adopted  children.  Some  of  the  environmental  influences  were 
within  the  school,  such  as,  perhaps,  certain  subject  requirements,  unsym- 
pathetic teachers,  and  arbitrary  regulations.  Others  were  outside  the 
school  and  characteristic  of  the  community  or  the  family.  These  influ- 
ences operated  frequently  in  producing  a  dislike  for  school.  They 
caused  the  pupil  to  get  into  that  state  of  mind  which  is  usually  described 
by  saying  that  he  "has  lost  interest  in  school  work."  This  condition 
is  not  necessarily  an  indication  that  the  pupil  lacks  the  ability  to  do  the 
work  he  dislikes.  It  may  mean  that  he  is  unfitted  by  native  endowment 
to  attain  more  than  average  success  in  this  particular  kind  of  work, 
but  it  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  he  could  not  do  even  better  than  the 
average  in  something  else.  Or,  it  may  mean  that  respect  for  education 
is  not  among  the  family  traditions  under  which  he  has  been  nurtured. 

It  has  been  suggested,  by  some  who  give  large  stress  to  the  factor  of 
heredity,  that  the  environmental  factors  measured  here  are  merely  an 
objective  expression — a  resultant — of  the  heredity  of  these  homes;  and 
that  an  even  higher  correlation  would  be  found  between  the  general 
intellectual  ability  of  the  parents  and  the  amount  of  schooling  their  chil- 
dren receive.  It  seems  to  the  writer  that  the  facts  brought  out  in  the 
part  devoted  to  adopted  children  suggest  the  improbability  of  such  an 
outcome. 

However,  the  writer  will  suggest  how  such  an  investigation  might  be 
attempted.  In  Urbana  the  social  facts  have  already  been  secured  and 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  99 

the  investigation  might  well  be  continued  there.  One  could  visit  the 
families  that  furnished  the  information  for  Part  IV  of  this  study.  These 
parents  could  be  tested.  The  tests,  to  answer  the  purpose  in  a  practical 
way,  must  be  simple  in  application,  as  training  on  the  part  of  the  subject 
should  not  be  presupposed.  The  results  of  the  tests,  when  correlated 
with  the  amounts  of  schooling  which  the  children  received,  would  show 
how  important  the  factors  of  heredity  are,  or,  at  least,  whether  heredity 
is  as  important  as  environment  in  determining  the  amounts  of  schooling 
the  children  receive.  That  there  is  a  positive  correlation  between  native 
ability  and  amounts  of  schooling  received  is  doubtless  true,  but  it  is 
probably  lower  than  is  usually  supposed.  Such  an  investigation  could 
be  conducted  just  as  well  in  another  town  as  in  Urbana,  but  it  would 
then  be  necessary  to  secure  the  social  data  as  well  as  the  facts  of  heredity. 
A  reliable  comparison  could  not  be  made  if  one  set  of  facts  were  taken 
from  one  town  and  another  set  from  a  different  one,  for  there  might  be 
differences  in  the  social  composition  which  would  vitiate  the  results. 

3.  Another  conclusion  which  is  almost  a  corollary  of  the  two  pre- 
ceding is  that  early  elimination  is  correlated  with,  and  largely  due  to, 
factors  outside  the  school.     The  school  is  only  an  institution  of  society. 
Society  has  created  it  and  uses  it  as  needs  arise.    Those  who  unreservedly 
blame  the  public  school  for  elimination  forget  that  the  school  imparts 
instruction  to  the  children  alone.    Their  parents  were  educated  a  gen- 
eration earlier  and  can  seldom  be  reached  by  the  present-day  school. 

4.  Since  the  amounts  of  schooling  which  children  receive  are  closely 
correlated  with  the  advantages  of  the  homes  from  which  they  come,  it 
follows  that  our  high  schools  are  largely  attended  and  probably  domi- 
nated during  the  last  two  or  three  years  by  pupils  from  homes  of  culture 
and  of  a  reasonable  measure  of  economic  advantage.    The  well-to-do 
business  and  land-owning  classes  send  their  children,  but  the  children 
of  the  laborer  and  artisan  seldom  graduate.    This  means,  then,  that  the 
majority  of  our  high-school  graduates  is  furnished  by  a  minority  of  the 
population.     It  also  suggests  something  of  the  home  type  of  those  who 
attend  our  colleges  and  universities.1 

1  The  large  proportionate  increase  in  high-school  enrolment  revealed  by  statistics 
from  the  reports  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  shows  that  these 
homes  have  been  availing  themselves  of  the  opportunity  for  education  to  a  greater 
degree  each  decade.  Not  only  have  more  children  enrolled  in  the  public  high  school, 
but  Mr.  W.  S.  Miller  has  shown  that  they  stay  longer  than  they  did  twenty-five  years 
ago.  (Mr.  W.  S.  Miller's  statistics  are  given  in  the  Illinois  Teacher,  April,  1915,  p.  7, 
and  hi  School  and  Home  Education,  April,  1915,  p.  282.) 


100  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

5.  If  a  person  wished  to  forecast,  from  a  single  objective  measure, 
the  probable  educational  opportunities  which  the  children  of  a  home 
have,  the  best  measure  would  be  the  number  of  books  in  the  home.  The 
highest  single  correlation  was  shown  by  this  index.  Further,  it  is  an 
index  which  is  easy  to  apply.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  a  detailed 
analysis  of  the  kinds  of  books  found,  the  number  bought  each  year,  and 
the  number  and  kind  read  by  each  member  of  the  family  would  be  a 
better  criterion,  though  it  would  be  more  difficult  to  secure  such  facts. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  increased  patronage  of  public  libraries,  charac- 
teristic of  some  cities,  may  alter  conditions  somewhat. 


SPECIFIC  CONCLUSIONS 

1.  There  are  a  number  of  minor  points  which  may  be  made  the  basis 
for  specific  conclusions.    The  correlation  between  the  schooling  of  the 
father  and  that  of  the  mother  is  one  of  these.    This  fact,  which  seems 
to  indicate  that  men  and  women  of  approximately  the  same  educational 
level  tend  to  intermarry  more  often  than  mere  chance  or  even  propinquity 
would  suggest,  might  be  called  "educational  selection."    This  is  a  very 
important  point  when  it  is  considered  that  it  results  in  the  concentrated 
transmission  from  one  generation  to  the  next  of  certain  social  charac- 
teristics which  vary  with  the  types  of  homes  represented.     It  means  that 
there  is  a  continuity,  and  perhaps  at  times  an  intensification  through 
generations,  of  the  tastes,  prejudices,  traditions,  ideals,  and  standards 
which  make  up  the  social  life  of  a  home.    Family  traditions  and  ideals 
are  thus  continuous  although  the  different  members  of  a  home  come  and 
go;   the  individuals  separate  and  form  new  homes,  but  these  are  much 
like  the  old  home  in  social  characteristics,  and  especially  in  educational 
and  cultural  standards. 

2.  The  relationship  which  holds  true  between  the  schooling  of  parents 
and  the  schooling  of  their  children  who  are  no  longer  in  school  is  par- 
alleled by  a  similar  relationship  for  those  children  who  are  yet  in 
school.     Retardation  was  most  frequent  among  those  children  who  came 
from  poorly  educated  parents.    This  implies  that  retardation  is  due 
to  causes  outside  the  school  similar  to  those  which  were  responsible 
for  elimination,  and  over  which  the  school  has  little  or  no  control. 
Hence  it  is  possible  that  retardation  is  only  indirectly  responsible  for 
elimination. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  loi 

3.  Truancy  on  the  part  of  children  is  correlated,  as  a  rule,  with  igno- 
rance on  the  part  of  parents.    In  those  cases  where  truancy  occurred  in 
the  better  homes,  it  was  not  followed  by  early  elimination.    This 
emphasizes  the  importance  of  the  rigid  enforcement  of  compulsory 
attendance  laws.    The  people  who  most  frequently  violate  them  are 
usually  those  who  have  had  a  limited  education  or  none  at  all  and  hence 
cannot  appreciate  its  values.    Their  children  must  be  protected  from 
this  parental  ignorance,  and  the  cumulative  growth  of  a  tradition  of 
schooling  must  thus  be  insured. 

4.  The  conclusion  that  size  of  family  alone  seems  to  have  no  marked 
effect  on  the  education  of  the  children  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  these 
homes  (the  homes  studied  in  Part  IV)  are  nearly  all  far  above  the  poverty 
line.    The  addition  of  one  or  two  children  would  probably  not  affect  the 
standard  of  living  much,  although  most  of  the  families  are  small  and  such 
an  addition  would  make  a  relatively  great  difference  in  each  one's  pro- 
portion of  the  home's  resources.    Another  possible  explanation  is  that 
this  factor  is  counterbalanced  by  the  operation  of  compulsory  attendance 
laws  which  force  the  children  of  poorly  educated  parents — most  of  the 
large  families  were  found  in  such  hoHies — to  go  to  school  much  longer 
than  their  parents  did. 

5.  The  table  giving  the  relationship  between  size  of  family  and  edu- 
cation of  the  parents  reveals  the  fact  that  the  population  of  Urbana  is 
not  quantitatively  reproducing  itself.1    Those  parents  who  have  attended 
only  the  elementary  school  have  families  which  are  barely  large  enough, 
on  the  average,   to  maintain   the  population.    The  better-educated 
families  have  only  half  enough  children  to  do  so.    As  a  whole  the  popu- 
lation is  slightly  declining  in  numbers,  except  as  it  is  increased  through 
immigration.    Further,  it  is  being  reproduced  largely  from  the  lower 
levels.    As  each  level  tends  to  reproduce  its  own  kind  socially,  these  facts 
have  sociological  importance.    They  indicate  a  condition  which  would 
be  especially  disconcerting  if  low  social  position  were  entirely  due  to 
inferior  heredity  and  if  there  were  no  people  of  superior  native  ability 
in  the  untrained  masses.    Fortunately,  there  seems  to  be  much  ability 
in  the  masses  which  needs  merely  the  opportunity  to  be  trained  to  enable 

1  It  has  been  shown  by  investigation  that,  in  any  community,  all  families  which 
have  children  must  average  four  each  to  maintain  an  undiminished  population.  In 
Urbana  the  average  family  contains  3.62  children;  see  W.  E.  Kellicott,  The  Social 
Direction  of  Human  Evolution  (New  York:  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1913),  p.  114. 


102  .THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

its  possessors  to  take  the  place  of  our  present  leaders.1  This  is  happen- 
ing, for  the  masses  are  being  elevated  educationally,  as  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  children  in  general  receive  more  education  than  their 
parents.  This  condition  is  especially  true  of  the  poorly  educated,  for 
with  them  compulsory  education  brings  this  about  in  a  marked  way.  It 
is  conceivable,  however,  that,  as  centuries  elapse,  this  constant  reproduc- 
tion of  society  from  the  bottom  will  result  in  a  greater  tendency  to 
mediocrity  in  general.  If  society's  best  are  continually  selected  by  con- 
ditions which  do  not  allow  them  to  reproduce  their  share  of  offspring,  a 
time  may  come  when  the  best  will  have  nearly  all  disappeared.  This 
condition  is  to  be  found  in  some  of  the  backward  towns  of  New  England 
where  emigration  has  removed  the  best  and  left  the  dregs.  Spain  gave 
her  best  to  the  New  World  for  centuries  and  her  present  inferior  position 
is  often  said  to  be  the  result  of  this.  Such  a  degeneration  will  not 
necessarily  result  in  a  cessation  of  progress  by  society  in  general,  but  it 
will  result  in  lessening  the  proportion  of  those  of  superior  talent.  Even 
if  exceptional  ability  is  the  result  of  a  happy  combination  of  parental 
characteristics  which  may  occur  among  the  masses,  the  low  birth-rate 
among  the  well-to-do  results  in  a  distinct  loss  through  the  gradual  lapse 
of  the  family  traditions,  ideals,  and  standards. 

6.  The  education  of  fathers  and  mothers  is  closely  correlated  with 
the  number  of  books  in  the  home.  In  other  words,  the  size  of  the  home 
library  is  a  measure  of  the  dynamic  effect  of  education.  It  is  probable 
that  the  same  relationships  can  be  detected  in  the  number  and  kind  of 
magazines  taken,  the  number  and  character  of  plays  and  entertainments 
attended,  and  other  intellectual  or  social  avocations,  diversions,  and 
recreations. 

*It  must  be  remembered  that  the  facts  which  support  this  conclusion  have 
reference  merely  to  the  amount  of  schooling  which  children  receive.  They  can  be 
applied  to  other  points  only  in  so  far  as  the  situations  are  analogous.  The  following 
quotation  from  the  writings  of  one  of  the  most  prominent  sociological  writers  of  recent 
years  bears  upon  this  point:  "The  proposition  that  the  lower  classes  of  society  are 

the  intellectual  equals  of  the  upper  classes  will  probably  shock  most  minds 

Yet  I  do  not  hesitate  to  maintain  and  defend  it  as  an  abstract  proposition.  But,  of 
course,  we  must  understand  what  is  meant  by  intellectual  equality.  I  have  taken 
pains  to  show  that  the  difference  in  the  intelligence  of  the  two  classes  is  immense. 
What  I  insist  upon  is  that  this  difference  in  intelligence  is  not  due  to  any  difference 
in  intellect.  It  is  due  entirely  to  difference  in  mental  equipment." — Lester  F.  Ward, 
Applied  Sociology  (Boston:  Ginn  &  Co.,  1906)  p.  91. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  103 

INFERENCES  AND   SUGGESTIONS 

There  are  many  points  which  were  suggested  by  the  data  and  by 
general  impressions  which  were  of  such  a  nature  that  they  could  not  be 
readily  reduced  to  statistical  facts.  Others  can  be  inferred  from  the 
study,  although  the  figures  do  not  prove  them  conclusively.  A  few  of 
these  inferences  and  suggestions  follow: 

1.  One  point  which  is  suggested  by  the  close  correlation  between  the 
education  of  parents  and  home  conditions,  but  which  does  not  lend  itself 
to  statistical  demonstration,  is  that  the  amount  of  education  of  the 
parents  is  the  most  important  and  persistent  factor  influencing  the 
schooling  of  the  children.    Within  certain  limits  it  determines  the  occu- 
pation of  the  family  breadwinner  and  restricts  the  earning  power  in  any 
particular  occupation.    In  a  broad  way,  it  forecasts  the  reading  tastes 
of  the  parents,  though  the  number  of  books  in  a  home  may  be  dependent 
more  upon  ability  to  buy  than  upon  ability  to  enjoy. 

2.  Closely  related  to  the  preceding  point  is  a  more  subtle  and  intan- 
gible outcome  which  may  be  called  appreciation  of  the  values  of  an  educa- 
tion.   This  term  describes  the  attitude  of  mind  in  which  a  person  decides 
whether  further  schooling  is  worth  the  cost  of  obtaining  it — cost  being 
considered  to  mean  the  postponement  of  the  satisfaction  of  social  and 
other  wants  as  well  as  economic  loss.    This  appreciation  of  values  serves 
as  an  impelling  guide  to  both  children  and  parents.     For  the  child  the 
values  must  be  rather  immediate  to  induce  him  to  stay  in  school,  while 
parents,  with  a  longer  life  behind  them,  can  appreciate  remoter  advan- 
tages.   With  the  better-educated  parents  their  own  experiences  with  an 
education  make  them  see  that  it  was  worth  while  to  undergo  the  restraints 
and  discomforts  necessary  to  secure  it  because  it  made  much  pleasure 
possible.    But  the  mere  factor  of  custom  or  tradition  is  probably 
stronger  than  this  reasoned  conclusion. 

It  is  probable  that  children  frequently  do  not  appreciate  the  values 
of  an  education,  but  their  parents  do.  The  children  then  attend  school 
because  of  parental  pressure.  This  was  clearly  illustrated  by  some  of 
the  truancy  cases.1  On  the  other  hand,  the  child  may  think  an  education 
is  worth  while  even  though  his  parents  do  not,  but  this  does  not  seem 
to  be  usual.  In  this  case  he  may  continue  his  education  even  in  the  face 
of  discouragements.  When  both  parents  and  child  do  not  appreciate 

1  The  three  boys  who  played  truant  but  came  from  the  better  homes  were  all 
in  school  or  college  when  the  data  were  gathered. 


104  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

the  values  of  an  education,  school  attendance  will  probably  be  continued 
only  so  long  as  society's  appreciation,  as  expressed  in  compulsory  atten- 
dance laws,  is  operative.  Similarly,  neighborhood  and  community 
appreciation  of  the  values  of  school  attendance  may  coerce  the  family 
and  shorten  or  lengthen  the  schooling  of  children.  This  is  especially  true 
when  this  appreciation  reaches  the  stage  where  it  becomes  the  "fashion" 
to  do  a  thing. 

These  "  values"  may  be  purely  economic.  Education  may  stand  for 
nothing  more  than  increased  earning  power.  It  is  probable  that  children 
who  have  given  little  thought  to  the  future  are  less  influenced  by  a  pos- 
sible economic  advantage  than  are  their  parents.  A  dollar  looks  power- 
ful to  the  child  who  never  has  had  the  privilege  of  spending  any,  and  the 
allurements  of  the  poorly  paid  "blind-alley"  job  are  strong.  Often  the 
child  does  not  realize  that  his  future  earning  power  would  be  greatly 
increased  by  a  few  more  years  in  school.  Parents  themselves  do  not 
always  realize  it.  Further,  there  are  individual  cases  where  more  than 
a  limited  amount  of  schooling  is  almost  a  waste  of  time  because  of  the 
lack  of  ability  of  those  receiving  it.  Since  the  average  parent  reasons 
from  the  exception  more  often  than  from  the  rule,  these  exceptions  stand 
out  and  have  resulted  in  the  popular  notion,  prevalent  on  certain  social 
levels,  that  it  does  not  "pay"  to  go  to  school.  The  better-educated 
parents  are  more  likely  to  see  the  economic  value  of  a  good  education 
and  to  compel  the  child  to  attend  school. 

In  other  dJses  attendance  at  school  is  favored  because  of  the  social 
prestige  which  is  often  the  lot  of  those  who  attend  high  school  and  college. 
This  "value"  is  probably  more  often  the  guiding  motive  with  girls  than 
with  boys.  It  is  especially  in  evidence  in  the  choice  of  certain  girls' 
schools  by  parents.  This  is  a  remoter  end  which  probably  influences  the 
parents  more  than  the  children.  A  similar  factor  is  at  work  with  the 
children  where  the  school  life,  especially  in  the  high  school,  is  connected 
with  so  many  social  pleasures — parties,  athletic  contests,  clubs,  and 
fraternities — so  that  as  a  result  it  is  far  more  enjoyable  than  the  life 
outside  the  school.  This  "value"  is  immediate  and  influences  the  chil- 
dren more  than  it  influences  the  parents. 

Another  "value"  is  the  purely  intellectual  pleasure  which  some  pupils 
derive  from  their  school  work,  the  satisfaction  of  the  "thirst  for  knowl- 
edge." There  is  no  doubt  that  this  is  a  very  strong  motive  with  certain 
pupils  natively  endowed  with  minds  well  fitted  for  intellectual  work.  ^ 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  105 

These  various  "values,"  economic,  social,  and  intellectual,  are  not 
independent  in  their  operation.  They  are  nearly  always  combined, 
though  one  may  predominate  with  one  individual  and  a  different  one 
with  another.  They  are,  however,  largely  beyond  the  control  of  the 
public  school  as  it  has  been  operated  in  the  past,  and  will  probably 
remain  so  in  the  future.  When  values  are  not  recognized  by  the  children , 
their  schooling  will  stop  unless  pressure  from  others — parents,  friends, 
or  community — prevents. 

The  foregoing  discussion  may  be  summarized  by  saying  that  parents 
seldom  feel  the  need,  and  frequently  do  not  recognize  the  advantage,  of 
much  more  schooling  than  they  themselves  received.  When  the  children 
have  reached  a  realm  of  knowledge  of  which  the  parents  are  ignorant, 
they  (the  parents)  often  remark  in  substance:  "Johnny  has  a  better, 
education  than  we  ever  received.  We  have  made  a  good  living.  He 
ought  to  be  able  to  do  the  same.  Let  him  go  to  work  now."  -  This  is 
especially  true  of  homes  where  the  parents  have  had  little  schooling  and 
where  "a  good  living"  means  little  more  than  the  bare  necessities  of  life. 
This  attitude  is  frequent  where  the  parents  are  poor  and  can  be  assistejl 
somewhat  if  the  children  contribute  a  few  dollars  to  the  family  income. 

3.  Growing  out  of  this  appreciation  of  values  when  handed  down 
through  several  generations  is  what  may  be  called  a  family  tradition  of 
schooling.    Appreciation  reaches  a  stage  where  it  is  no  longer  rational 
but  is  a  "prejudice."    In  such  a  home  a  child  is  almoj);  as  certain  to 
attend  school,  if  he  keeps  his  health,  as  day  is  certain  to  follow  night. 
The  tradition  often  centers  around  some  particular  school  or  even  a 
particular  curriculum.    Every  child  must  follow  the  same  path.  -  Older 
brothers  and  sisters  help  the  movement  along  and  send  the  younger  ones. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probable  that  there  are  families  in  which  the 
opposite  is  true.    To  them  education  is  the  mark  of  a  despised  upper 
class  and  they  and  theirs  will  have  none  of  it.1 

4.  The  fact  that  the  economic  station  of  a  home  is  somewhat  closely 
correlated  with  the  schooling  of  the  children  might  lead  one  to  think  that 

1  The  tradition  of  schooling  may  be  cumulative  in  its  effect.  The  children  of 
one  generation  may  be  kept  in  school  by  compulsory  attendance  legislation.  When 
they  rear  families,  however,  they  may  desire  their  children  to  have  a  better  education 
than  they  themselves  received.  This  will  lead  to  a  gradual  cumulative  increase  of 
family  traditions  of  schooling.  Compulsory  attendance  laws  have  been  adequately 
enforced  for  such  a  brief  period  of  time  in  most  communities  that  we  must  wait  for 
the  growth  of  the  next  generation  before  accurate  information  can  be  obtained  on 
tnis  point. 


106  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

low  economic  status  was  primarily  responsible  for  much  early  elimination. 
The  close  interrelations  of  the  various  factors,  as  well  as  other  data  pre- 
sented, show  that  this  is  probably  not  true.  Indirectly,  however,  it  is 
probable  that  lack  of  economic  resources  plays  an  important  role,  espe- 
cially in  bringing  about  elimination  from  the  high  school,  where  social 
stratification  begins  to  manifest  itself.  A  sensitive  adolescent,  from  a 
home  which  could  not  furnish  him  with  a  clean  linen  collar  every  day, 
the  newest  cut  in  coat  and  trousers,  and  other  marks  of  a  well-to-do  class, 
might  prefer  to  leave  school  and  go  to  work,  in  spite  of  all  the  wishes  of 
his  parents  to  the  contrary,  rather  than  face  the  jibes  and  slights  of  his 
schoolmates.  Similarly,  in  poor  homes,  if  the  child  is  large  enough  to 
earn  a  little  money,  this  is  sufficient  reason  for  him  to  leave  school  and 
contribute  to  the  family  income,  although  it  might  not  be  a  great  hard- 
ship for  the  parents  to  keep  him  in  school  a  year  or  two  longer.  The 
fact  that  the  girls  averaged  a  year  more  schooling  than  the  boys  may  be 
a  reflection  of  the  low  earning  power  of  an  adolescent  girl,  which  is  much 
less  than  that  of  an  adolescent  boy. 

5.  Beginning  with  Ayres'1  influential  study  of  retardation  and  elimi- 
nation there  has  been  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  investigators  to  place 
the  blame  for  the  failure  and  elimination  of  pupils  upon  the  organization 
and  administration  of  the  school,  and  especially  upon  the  school  program 
of  studies.  Such  references  can  be  found  in  a  number  of  the  important 
surveys.2  It  has  become  the  fashion  to  ascribe  the  failure  of  the  school 

1  Leonard  P.  Ayres,  Laggards  in  Our  Schools   (published  by  the  Russell  Sage 
Foundation,  New  York,  1909).     Dr.  Ayres  says:  "Our  courses  of  study  as  at  present 
constituted  are  fitted  not  to  the  slow  or  to  the  average  child  but  to  the  unusually 
bright  one." 

2  Leonard  P.  Ayres,  A  Survey  of  the  Public  Schools  of  Springfield,  Illinois  (pub- 
lished by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York  City,  1914).    While  discussing  the 
"significance  of  progress  records"  the  report  says  (p.  55):   "Quite  unconsciously  the 
schools  of  this  city,  like  those  of  many  other  cities,  have  developed  a  course  of  study, 
a  system  of  examinations  and  promotions,  and  methods  of  teaching — in  short  an 
entire  school  system — better  fitted  for  the  needs  and  requirements  of  the  girls  than 
for  those  of  the  boys.    Those  conditions  can  be  remedied  and  their  alteration  is 
one  of  the  most  important  tasks  which  confronts  the  schools." 

In  the  Report  of  the  Survey  of  the  Public  School  System  of  School  District  No.  I, 
Multnomah  County,  Oregon,  City  of  Portland,  1913,  in  the  section  devoted  to  "needed 
reorganizations,"  Superintendent  J.  H.  Francis  says  (p.  192):  "The  marked  school 
death-rate  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  to  which  Portland  forms  no  exception 
(see  Fig.  8,  p.  150),  can  be  accounted  for  by  subject-matter  in  the  course  of  study, 
methods  of  presentation,  and  general  school  conditions  not  congenial  to  early  adoles- 
cence." 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  107 

to  these  agencies.  But  in  Urbana  retardation  and  elimination  were 
closely  correlated  with  home  conditions,  factors  over  which  the  school 
has  almost  no  control.  How  then  can  the  public  school  be  entirely  to 
blame?  Many  of  these  children  are  social  and  industrial  "misfits"  as 
well  as  "misfits"  in  the  public  school.  Some  of  them,  undoubtedly,  are 
mentally  subnormal.  These  require  individual  or  special  treatment  and 
profit  little,  as  far  as  society  is  concerned,  from  their  training.  Many 
"misfits"  are  handicapped  by  home  environments,  will  always  be 
retarded,  and  will  furnish  the  most  of  those  eliminated  early  in  the  com- 
petition of  life.  Though  the  public  school  may  be  responsible  for  a  few 
of  these  "misfits,"  many  of  them  are  due  to  social  and  other  conditions 
outside  of  it.  Unless  the  activities  of  the  public  school  can  be  so  extended 
as  to  control  and  direct  the  home  and  neighborhood  life — something 
entirely  beyond  its  proper  sphere — slow  progress  and  early  elimination 
on  the  part  of  some  are  to  be  expected. 

6.  Because  of  the  social  factors  involved,  the  differences  between 
cities  with  respect  to  retardation  and  elimination  may  not  be  a  measure 
of  the  relative  efficiency  of  their  school  systems  at  all,  but  may  be  merely 
an  indication  of  corresponding  differences  in  the  composition  of  the 
population  of  these  cities.1    A  better  measure  of  school  and  system 
efficiency  might  be  furnished  by  the  comparative  improvement  which 
has  been  made  during  a  definite  period.     But  such  a  comparison  would 
have  to  include  any  changes  in  social  conditions  which  may  have  taken 
place  during  that  time. 

7.  For  similar  reasons  curriculum  changes,  such  as  the  "six-six  plan" 
and  the  introduction  of  vocational  work,  cannot  be  expected  to  be 
unfailing  panaceas  for  retardation  and  elimination.2    Vocational  work, 
appealing  strongly,  as  it  probably  will,  to  the  economic  motives  of 
parents  and  children,  may  lessen  these  evils  somewhat,  but  it  has  its 

1  This  point  was  made  by  E.  L.  Thorndike  in  his  study,  "The  Elimination  of 
Pupils  from  School"  (Department  of  the  Interior;    Bureau  of  Education,  Bulletin 
No.  4,  1907).    Thoradike  says  (pp.  14-15):  "In  the  opinion  of  the  author,  however, 
the  character  of  the  cities'  population  is  more  important  than  the  character  of  their 
educational  administrations  as  a  cause  of  the  variability  of  elimination." 

2  This  point  has  been  recognized  by  some  of  those  who  have  investigated  the 
problems  of  vocational  education.    Thus  David  S.  Hill  says:    "We  cannot  find  in 
industrial  training  a  panacea  for  all  of  our  social  evils."     (Facts  about  the  Public  Schools 
of  New  Orleans  in  Relation  to  Vocation,  published  by  the  Commission  Council,  New 
Orleans,  June,  1914.) 


Io8  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

limitations.  The  kinds  of  skills  which  can  be  imparted  through  the 
vocational  work  of  any  school  or  the  schools  of  any  one  city  are  neces- 
sarily limited.  Schools  must  confine  their  attention  to  the  most  general 
types  of  vocational  training,1  and  many  of  these  demand  a  preparation 
in  the  educational  fundamentals  as  a  foundation.  Retardation  and 
elimination  frequently  manifest  themselves  before  these  fundamentals 
are  attained.  Hence  vocational  education  is  greatly  restricted  in  its 
possible  sphere.  The  only  way  to  insure  the  more  adequate  training  of 
these  children  is  to  keep  them  in  school  longer  through  compulsory  legis- 
lation. It  may  be  expedient  to  offer  vocational  training  to  some  of  them, 
but  vocational  training  should  not  be  introduced  into  the  public  schools 
with  the  expectation  that  it  will  "interest"  all  such  children  and  thus 
keep  them  all  in  school  longer.  Social  forces  doom  it  to  failure  if  it  is 
introduced  with  such  an  expectation. 

8.  The  yearly  influx  of  vast  numbers  of  illiterate  immigrants  from 
southeastern  Europe  and  western  Asia  is  a  phenomenon  which  may 
well  be  viewed  with  apprehension  when  considered  in  the  light  of  the 
facts  presented  in  this  study.    If  these  people  were  otherwise  similar  to 
the  earlier  immigrants  in  their  social  behavior,  the  absence  of  a  tradition 
of  schooling  would  be  a  serious  thing.     The  probability  of  imparting 
such  a  prejudice  to  them  under  the  conditions  among  which  they  live 
and  work  in  this  country  is  rather  remote.    From  this  standpoint  a 
literacy  test  in  our  immigration  laws  might  be  of  untold  value.    Studies 
of  various  foreign-born  communities  in  the  United  States,  conducted  as 
this  study  has  been,  might  furnish  us  with  some  very  important  facts 
which  would  aid  in  understanding  the  problems  of  assimilation. 

9.  All  the  arguments  and  facts  thus  far  advanced  which  suggest  that 
retardation  and  elimination  are  largely  due  to  forces  outside  the  public 
school  do  not  justify  teachers  and  school  officials  in  neglecting  any  steps 
which  will  lessen  retardation  and  elimination.    These  people  should 
work  just  as  faithfully  as  ever  to  adjust  the  schools  to  the  needs  of  the 
state  and  of  the  local  community.    They  have  done  much  in  the  past 

1  The  impossibility  of  providing  vocational  training  -where  specific  skills  must  be 
taught  is  obvious  when  it  is  recalled  that  40  of  the  98  parental  occupations  represented 
in  this  study  might  be  classed  as  professions  and  skilled  or  semiskilled  trades.  None 
of  the  40  is  followed  by  as  many  as  7  per  cent  of  the  fathers,  and  most  of  the  occupations 
have  only  one  or  two  representatives.  Only  those  skills  which  are  common  to  a  num- 
ber of  occupations  can  be  taught,  such  as,  perhaps,  mechanical  drawing  and  the 
reading  of  blueprints  or  commercial  work. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  log 

and  are  wide  awake  to  possibilities.  These  arguments  and  facts,  how- 
ever, may  be  a  comfort  to  schoolmen  who  have  been  severely  criticized 
by  investigators  because  of  the  amount  of  retardation  and  elimination 
present  in  their  communities  after  they  have  done  their  best  to 
remedy  defects. 

iO;  Another  point  worthy  of  mention  is  the  possible  effect  of  the 
blind  action  of  social  pressure  which  keeps  children  in  school  who  are 
so  poorly  endowed  with  native  ability  as  to  be  unable  to  profit  from  the 
instruction.  This  has  happened  in  the  past  and  is  still  happening  in 
many  cases  with  the  feeble-minded.  They  were  given  the  same  work 
as  other  children  though  unable  to  profit  by  it.  In  a  similar  way  children 
probably  are  forced  to  attend  the  high  school  and  even  the  college  when 
not  at  all  fitted  for  the  work.  They  leave  school  unable  to  apply  the  edu- 
cation that  they  have  had.  Their  failures  furnish  the  stock  arguments 
of  the  man  in  the  street  with  respect  to  the  uselessness  of  an  education. 
However,  no  one  has  clearly  demonstrated  the  existence  of  any  consider- 
able number  of  these  failures.  Although  they  make  comparatively  little 
use  of  the  education  they  have  received,  they  may  be  much  better  off 
with  it  than  without  it. 

ii.  This  study  is,  in  all  probability,  qualitatively  representative  of 
conditions  in  the  small  cities  and  towns  of  Illinois  and  perhaps  through- 
out the  Middle  West.  It  is  probable  that  the  problem  may  be  compli- 
cated by  other  factors  when  the  foreign-born  part  of  the  population  of 
large  cities  is  considered.  In  rural  districts  opportunity  may  play  a 
much  more  significant  role  than  in  the  cities  studied.  But  it  is  probable 
that  the  better-educated  and  well-to-do  classes  will  strive  to  educate 
their  children  although  they  may  not  always  use  the  public  school  to 
attain  their  ends.  Quantitatively,  conditions  are  likely  to  vary  from 
place  to  place  and  the  quantitative  facts  given  here  must  be  re- 
stricted, when  quoted,  to  the  places  from  which  they  were  secured. 

FINAL  SUMMARY 

The  results  of  the  entire  study  may  be  summed  up  in  the  following 
points : 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS 

i.  There  is  a  high  correlation  between  the  economic,  educational,  and 
social  advantages  of  a  home  and  the  number  of  years  of  schooling  which 
its  children  receive. 


HO  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

2.  Environmental  influences  more  often  cause  a  child  to  stop  attend- 
ing school  than  lack  of  ability  to  do  the  work. 

3.  Early  elimination  is  correlated  with,  and  largely  due  to,  social  and 
hereditary  factors  outside  the  school  over  which  the  school  has  little  or 
no  control. 

4.  High  schools  are  largely  attended  by  the  children  from  homes  of 
culture  and  wealth,  representatives  of  the  "better  class." 

5.  The  number  of  books  in  a  home  is  the  best  single  objective  index 
of  the  educational  advantages  open  to  the  children. 

SPECIFIC  CONCLUSIONS 

1.  Men  and  women  marry  those  who  are  of  approximately  the  same 
educational  level  as  themselves — "educational  selection." 

2.  Retardation  is  greatest,  as  a  rule,  among  the  children  of  those 
parents  who  are  most  poorly  educated. 

3.  Truancy  is  found  most  frequently  among  the  children  of  poor 
and  uneducated  parents. 

4.  Size  of  family  has  no  appreciable  effect  on  persistence  in  school. 

5.  The  population  of  Urbana,  as  far  as  birth-rate  is  concerned,  is 
slightly  declining  in  numbers,  and  most  of  the  renewal  comes  from  the 
less-educated  half. 

6.  The  number  of  books  in  a  home  is  closely  correlated  with  the 
schooling  of  the  parents. 

INFERENCES  AND  SUGGESTIONS 

1.  The  education  of  the  parents,  as  a  rule,  ultimately  determines  the 
educational  advantages  opened  to  the  children. 

2.  Appreciation  of  the  values  of  an  education  is  probably  lacking  in 
the  homes  where  the  children  are  eliminated  early  from  school. 

3.  A  family  tradition  of  schooling  is  probably  very  effective  in  indu- 
cing unusual  persistence  in  school  in  some  cases. 

4.  Low  economic  status  is  probably  an  important  indirect  factor  in 
early  elimination. 

5.  The  popular  notion,  which  places  the  responsibility  upon  the 
public  school  for  the  marked  elimination  which  is  commonly  found,  does 
not  allow  for  the  operation  of  powerful  social  factors  outside  the  school, 
in  comparison  with  which  the  influence  of  the  public  school  is  almost 
insignificant. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  III 

6.  The  amounts  of  retardation  and  elimination  present  in  a  school 
system  are  not  necessarily  measures  of  the  efficiency  of  that  system,  for 
these  phenomena  may  be  due  to  the  operation  of  factors  outside  the 
public  school.  *\ 

7.  Curriculum  changes  cannot  be  expected  to  counteract  some  of       I 
the  social  forces  which  produce  elimination. 

8.  The  influx  of  large  numbers  of  immigrants  who  have  no  family 
traditions  of  schooling  is  a  phenomenon  which  may.  presage  unde- 
sirable consequences. 

9.  Educators  who  have  been  blamed  for  inefficiency  because  of  the 
retardation  and  elimination  found  in  their  schools  can  find  facts  presented 
here  which  show  that  investigators  of  school  conditions  have  sometimes 
overlooked  important  social  factors. 

10.  Social  pressure  sometimes  keeps  children  in  school  who  cannot 
profit  by  the  work  given. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY1 

RETARDATION  AND  ELIMINATION 

AYRES,  LEONARD  P.    A  Survey  of  the  Public  Schools  of  Springfield,  Illinois. 
New  York:  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1914. 

.     "A  Simple  System  for  Discovering  Some  Factors  Influencing  Non- 
Promotion,"  Psychological  Clinic,  IV  (1910-11),  189-92. 

Gives  a  few  data  on  home  conditions  correlated  with  non-promotion. 

.    Laggards  in  Our  Schools,  A  Study  of  Retardation  and  Elimination  in 

City  Systems.    New  York:  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1909. 

.    "Some  Factors  Affecting  Grade  Distribution,"  Psychological  Clinic, 

II  (1908-9),  121-33. 

Ayres  discusses  the  factors  of  death,  increase  of  population,  retardation,  and 
elimination  as  they  affect  the  enrolment  of  the  higher  grades.  The  following  sig- 
nificant quotation  is  found  in  this  article:  "Dr.  Thorndike  reaches  the  conclusion 
that  the  amount  of  elimination  is  comparatively  unrelated  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
school  system  and  deprecates  any  inferences  as  to  the  latter  from  the  rate  of 
elimination  which  results  from  his  studies.  Our  studies  have  led  us  to  similar 
results  in  comparing  the  grade  inequalities  of  different  cities." 

— .     "The  Effect  of  Physical  Defects  on  School  Progress,"  Psychological 
Clinic,  III  (May  15,  1909)^  71-77. 

"  In  general,  children  suffering  from  physical  defects  are  found  to  make  8 . 8  per 
cent  less  progress  than  do  children  having  no  physical  defects." 

.     "Irregular  Attendance — A   Cause  of  Retardation,"   Psychological 

Clinic,  III  (March  15,  1909),  1-8. 

"  Such  figures  as  are  available  indicate  that  in  our  cities  less  than  three-fourths 
of  the  children  continue  in  attendance  as  much  as  three-fourths  of  the  year. 
Retardation  results  in  elimination." 

.    "The  Relation  between  Physical  Defects  and  School  Progress," 

American  Physical  Education  Review,  XV  (June,  1910),  289-95. 

1  This  bibliography  attempts  to  give  a  complete  list  of  the  better-known  literature 
which  deals  with  the  qualitative  side  of  retardation  and  elimination.  References 
which  are  confined  to  the  quantitative  side  of  the  subject  alone  are  not  included. 
Much  excellent  material  can  be  found  in  city-school  or  board  of  education  reports, 
but  these  reports  have  only  a  limited  circulation.  Hence  they  are  not  included.  All 
articles  or  books  that  have  been  referred  to  in  the  study  are  included.  The  author 
hopes  to  prepare  a  comprehensive  review  of  this  literature  for  publication  hi  some 
educational  journal  in  the  near  future. 

112 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  113 

BACHE,  JOSEPH  A.    "Delinquency  and  the  Responsibility  of  the  School 

toward  It,"  N.E.A.  Proceedings,  1909,  pp.  1001-5. 

A  theoretical  discussion;  gives  the  three  primary  causes  of  delinquency  as 

heredity,  environment,  and  association. 

BALLIET,  THOMAS  M.    Discussion,  N.E.A.  Proceedings,  1903,  pp.  800-801. 
BEVARD,  KATHERINE  H.    "Progress  of  the  Repeaters  of  the  Class  of  1912  of 

the   Public   Schools  of  Washington,   D.C.,"   Psychological  Clinic,   VII 

(1913-14),  68-83. 

This  study  gives  some  of  the  reputed  causes  of  repeating,  but  does  not  tell 

how  the  data  were  secured.    Hence  it  is  obscure. 
BLISS,  D.  C.    "Retardation,"  Journal  of  Education,  LXXV  (Boston,  1912), 

556. 

Says  "one  of  the  best  indices  of  the  degree  of  efficiency  attained  is  the 
percentage  of  retardation,  or  the  percentage  of  over-age  children." 

'BOOK,  W.  F.  "Why  Pupils  Drop  Out  of  the  High  School,"  Pedagogical 
Seminary,  XI  (1904),  204-32. 

A  careful  and  extensive  study  of  motives  for  leaving  school. 

BROOKS,  STRATTON  D.  "Causes  of  Withdrawal  from  School,"  Educational 
Review,  XXVI  (1903),  362-93. 

A  study  of  1,200  boys  and  girls  who  left  school.  The  causes  were  roughly 
divided  into  twelve  classes.  Most  of  them  were  social.  Poverty  was  found  to 
be  but  a  slight  factor. 

.     "Relation  of  Temperament  to  Withdrawal  from  School,"  School 

Review,  X  (1902),  446-55- 

This  article  gives  a  number  of  non-curriculum  causes  of  withdrawal  from 
school. 

BRYAN,  JAMES  E.  "A  Method  of  Determining  the  Extent  and  Causes  of 
Retardation  in  a  School  System,"  Psychological  Clinic,  I  (April  15,  1907), 
42-52. 

BURK,  CAROLINE  F.  "Promotion  of  Bright  and  Slow  Children,"  Educational 
Review,  XIX  (1900),  296-302. 

This  article  reports  data  which  show  that  health  has  little  bearing  on  retarda- 
tion; irregular  attendance  and  low  mentality  much. 

CAMERON,  NORMAN  C.  "Relation  of  Retardation  to  Attendance,"  Penn- 
sylvania School  Journal,  LIX  (September,  1910),  127-31. 

.    "A  New  Method  for  Determining  Rate  of  Progress  in  a  Small 

School  System,"  Psychological  Clinic,  V  (1911-12),  251-64. 

This  is  a  study  of  school  histories  and  presents  a  very  comprehensive  view  of 
retardation  and  elimination.  Mr.  Cameron  says  in  his  conclusion :  "  An  accumu- 
lation of  gathering  forces,  as  the  pupil  wends  his  way  along  the  school  course,  is 
the  real  cause  of  leaving.  The  home  and  school  and  society  in  general  are  all 
more  or  less  responsible  for  the  final  outcome,  leaving  school." 


114  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

CAMPBELL,  EVERETT  EVELETH.  "A  Study  of  Retardation  and  Class  Standing 
on  the  Basis  of  Home  Language  Used  by  Pupils,"  Elementary  School 
Teacher,  XIV  (1913-14),  262-82,  331-4?- 

This  study  shows  that  the  use  of  a  foreign  language  is  not  of  sufficient 
importance  to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  causes  of  retardation. 

CARR,  J.  W.    Discussion,  N.E.A.  Proceedings,  1903,  pp.  798-800. 

CORNMAN,  OLIVER  P.     "The  Retardation  of  the  Pupils  of  Five  City  School 

Systems,"  Psychological  Clinic,  I  (1907-8),  245-57. 

This  is  a  comparative  study  of  five  eastern  cities  which  gives  a  number  of 

the  causes  of  retardation.    The  data  do  not  warrant  all  of  the  conclusions, 

however. 

\A  DEARBORN,    W.    F.    "Qualitative   Elimination   from   School,"   Elementary 
School  Teacher,  X  (September,  1910),  1-13. 

"  If  this  is  so,  we  may  be  justified  in  concluding  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
elimination  of  the  first  few  years  of  school,  the  pupils  who  drop  out  are  as  a 
group  very  nearly  as  well  qualified  for  further  study  as  those  who  remain 
throughout  the  course  of  study  in  the  high  school  and  university." 

ELLIS,  A.  CASWELL.  "The  Percentage  of  Boys  Who  Leave  the  High  School 
and  the  Reasons  Therefor,"  N.E.A.  Proceedings,  1903,  pp.  793-98. 

ELWOOD,  DEWITT,  TAYLOR,  E.H.,  AND  WILEY,  J.  F.  "A  Study  of  Retardation 
and  Elimination  in  Certain  Schools  of  Eastern  Illinois,  with  a  Considera- 
tion of  the  Causes,"  School  and  Home  Education,  XXXII  (1912-13), 

147-53. 

The  main  causes  for  retardation  given  were  late  entrance,  irregular  attend- 
ance, lack  of  ability,  poor  physical  conditions,  and  indifference.  These  include 
about  85  per  cent  of  the  causes  of  retardation.  The  main  causes  of  elimination 
were  to  go  to  work,  ill  health,  removal,  failure  in  studies,  and  indifference. 
EWING,  E.  F.  "Retardation  and  Elimination  hi  the  Public  Schools,"  Educa- 
tional Review,  XL VI  (1913),  252-72. 

This  study  suggests  that  differences  between  the  two  cities  studied  may  be 
due  to  differences  in  composition  of  population.  Social  causes,  such  as  negligent 
parents  and  moving,  are  given  as  responsible  for  much  retardation  and  elimination. 

FALHNER,  ROLAND  P.    "Retardation:    Its  Significance  and  Its  Measure- 
, ' '  Educational  Review  XXXVIII  ( 1 909) ,  122-31. 

The  writer  states  that  the  causes  of  retardation  were  then  unknown. 
— .     "Some  Further  Considerations  upon  the  Retardation  of  the  Pupils 
of  Five  City  School  Systems,"  Psychological  Clinic,  II  (1908-9),  57-74. 

This  article  criticizes  Cornman's  paper,  which  was  presented  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  Psychological  Clinic. 

— .     "Elimination  of  Pupils  from  School:  A  Review  of  Recent  Investiga- 
tions," Psychological  Clinic,  II  (1908-9),  255-75. 

This  article  is  devoted  mainly  to  Thorndike's  elimination  study. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS          115 

GAY,  GEORGE  E.    "Why  Pupils  Leave  the  High  School  without  Graduating," 
Education,  XXII  (1901-2),  300-307. 

GAYLOR,  G.  W.    "A  Further  Study  of  Retardation,"  School  and  Home  Educa- 
tion, XXIX  (1909-10),  310-13. 

"The  majority  of  the  retarded  are  average  pupils  without  physical  defects 
and  of  ordinary  intelligence." 

.     "Elimination  and  Vocational  Training,"  Psychological  Clinic,  VI 

(1912-13),  60-73. 

A  theoretical  discussion  of  the  question  of  elimination.     . 
— .     "Elimination  from  a  Different  Angle,"  Psychological  Clinic,  VII 
(1913-14),  11-16. 

This  article  shows  how  a  change  in  the  spirit  of  a  school  made  for  much 
greater  persistence  in  school.  A  careful  consideration  of  failures  led  to  a  decreased 
elimination. 

GOSSETT,  J.  O.     "Retardation  in  the  Schools  of  Stockton,  California,"  Psycho- 
logical Clinic,  V  (1911-12),  149-57. 

Illiterate  parents  furnished  more  than  their  share  of  the  children  found  in  the 
first  three  grades.  Those  wards  of  the  city  which  had  a  low  social  level  produced 
an  abnormal  amount  of  retardation.  The  children  of  very  rich  and  very  poor  were 
more  often  retarded  than  were  those  from  homes  of  average  wealth. 

GREENWOOD,  JAMES  M.    "Report  on  High-School  Statistics,"  N.E.A.  Pro- 
ceedings, 1900,  pp.  340-51. 

Gives  specific  reasons  which  pupils  gave  for  leaving  school. 

.     "Retardation  of  Pupils  hi  Their  Studies  and  How  to  Minimize  It," 

N.E.A.  Proceedings,  1909,  pp.  182-86. 

In  addition  to  a  theoretical  discussion  there  is  the  report  of  the  investigation 
of  the  progress  of  1,957  pupils  through  school.  Out  of  a  total  of  716  pupils  who 
took  more  than  the  scheduled  time  to  complete  the  work,  at  least  518  were 
retarded  on  account  of  conditions  for  which  the  school  was  not  responsible. 
Sickness  was  the  most  potent  retardation  factor. 

— .  "  Some  Thoughts  on  the  Retardation  of  Pupils  hi  Their  Studies  and 
How  to  Minimize  It,"  School  and  Home  Education,  XXVIII  (1908-9), 
247-51- 

.     "Retardation  of  Pupils  hi  Their  Studies  and  How  to  Minimize  It," 

Journal  of  Education,  LXIX  (Boston,  1909),  260-62. 

— .     "Retardation  of  Pupils  in  Their  Studies  and  How  to  Minimize  It," 

Educational  Review,  XXXVTI  (April,  1009),  342-48. 

GULICK,  L.  H.     "Why  250,000  Children  Quit  School,"  World's  Work,  XX 
(August,  1910),  13,385-13,289. 

Places  the  blame  on  the  public  school. 

GULICK,  L.  H.,  AND  AYRES,  L.  P.    Medical  Inspection  of  Schools.    New  York: 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1908. 


Il6  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

HENMON,  V.  A.  C.  "Retardation,  Acceleration,  and  Class  Standing,"  Ele- 
mentary School  Teacher,  XIV  (1913-14),  283-94. 

This  is  a  study  of  2,023  pupils.    It  shows  but  little  relation  between  progress 
in  school  and  class  standing. 

HILL,  DAVID  S.  Facts  about  the  Public  School  of  New  Orleans  in  Relation  to 
Vocation.  New  Orleans:  Published  by  Commission  Council,  June,  1914. 

HINES,  L.  N.     "A  Study  in  Retardation,"  Journal  of  Education,  LXXV 
(Boston,  1912),  400-401. 
Gives  a  detailed  discussion  of  the  causes  of  retardation. 

HOLLEY,  C.  E.  "The  Influence  of  Family  Income  and  Other  Factors  on  High 
School  Attendance,"  School  and  Home  Education,  XXXIII  (February, 
1914),  222-24. 

JOHNSON,  GEORGE  R.  "Qualitative  Elimination  from  High  Schools,"  School 
Review,  XVIII  (1910),  680-94. 

Those  who  were  eliminated  did  poorer  work,  on  the  average,  than  those  who 
remained  in  school.    Many  "bright"  pupils  were  eliminated,  however. 

JOHNSON,  RALPH  L.  "Irregular  Attendance  in  the  Primary  Grades,"  Psycho- 
logical Clinic,  III  (July  15,  1909),  89-95. 

"A  very  important  cause  for  retardation  in  the  primary  grades  is  inadequate 
and  irregular  attendance." 

JOHNSTON,  T.  EDWARD.  "Elimination  in  the  High  School,"  American  School- 
master, VIII  (March,  1915),  121-26. 

The  causes  of  the  elimination  of  200  high-school  pupils  are  given.    As  classi- 
fied, more  than  two-thirds  are  factors  outside  the  school. 

KEYES,  CHARLES  HENRY.    Progress  through  the  Grades  of  City  Schools.    New 

York:   Teachers  College,  1911. 
LAW,  FREDERICK  H.    "The  Age  at  Which  Children  Leave  School,"  Educational 

Review,  XV  (1898),  40-49. 

A  discussion  of  the  extent  and  causes  of  withdrawals  from  some  of  the  New 

York  City  schools. 
LUCKEY,  G.  W.  A.    "Can  We  Eliminate  the  School  Laggard?"    N.E.A. 

Proceedings,  1911,  pp.  1046-51. 

This  writer  suggests  a  list  of  causes  which  make  it  very  hard  to  control  the 

situation. 
MILLER,  CHARLES  A.  A.  J.    "Progress  and  Retardation  of  a  Baltimore  Class," 

Psychological  Clinic,  XXXI  (October  15,  1909),  136-40. 

Dr.  Miller  protests  against  "the  comparative  statistics  of  retardation,  which 

do  not  take  into  consideration  the  character  of  the  population,  the  attitude  of  the 

people  toward  the  public  schools,  and  the  enforcement  of  compulsory  attendance 

laws." 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS  117 

MILLER,  W.  S.  Mr.  Miller's  comparative  statistics  on  high-school  enrolment 
in  Illinois  are  given  in  an  editorial  in  School  and  Home  Education,  XXXIV 
(April,  1915),  382. 

MISSIMER,  H.  G.  "Are  the  Schools  Responsible  for  Retardation?"  Psycho- 
logical Clinic,  IV  (1910),  28-32. 

.This  article  gives  a  number  of  social  and  economic  causes  of  retardation. 

MORTON,  W.  H.  S.  "Retardation  in  Nebraska,"  Psychological  Clinic,  VI 
(1912-13),  181-97,  222-28. 

This  study  reports  the  replies  of  107  school  superintendents,  answers  to  ques- 
tions on  the  causes  of  elimination  from  the  elementary  school.  A  long  list  of 
causes  is  given. 

NEIGHBOURS,  OWEN  J.  "Retardation  in  the  Schools  and  Some  of  the  Causes," 
Elementary  School  Teacher,  XI  (1910-11),  119-35. 

Shows  that  homes  which  have  the  advantage  of  superior  financial,  educa- 
tional, and  moral  conditions  furnish  the  fewest  retarded  children. 

PAYNE,  I.  D.  "Retardation  in  the  Schools  of  Palo  Alto,"  Psychological  Clinic, 
V  (1911-12),  139-48. 

This  study  gives  a  few  data  on  the  home  conditions  of  the  retarded.  A  large 
percentage  of  the  retarded  have  abnormal  homes. 

PHILLIPS,  BYRON  A.  "Retardation  in  the  Elementary  Schools  of  Philadelphia," 
Psychological  Clinic,  VI  (1912-13),  79-90. 

This  study  considered  the  city  by  wards  and  related  the  conditions  in  the 
the  school  to  the  social  conditions  outside  of  it.  The  conclusions  place  consider- 
able stress  upon  the  influence  of  home  conditions. 

Report  of  Board  of  Public  Schools,  St.  Louis.     1894-95,  1895-96,  191 1. 

Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  "Retardation  and  Acceleration  in 
City  Schools,"  II  (1909),  1343. 

This  article  suggests  that  population  differences  may  be  partly  responsible 
for  differences  in  these  phenomena. 

Report  of  the  Survey  of  the  Public  School  System  of  School  District  No.  i,  Mult- 
nomah  Co.,  Oregon,  City  of  Portland,  1913. 

SCHMIDT,  CLARA.  "Retardation  Statistics  of  Three  Chicago  Schools,"  Ele- 
mentary School  Teacher,  X  (1909-10),  478-92. 

This  writer  blames  the  course  of  study  for  the  retardation,  though  there  are 
no  facts  which  support  the  conclusion. 

SHELDON,  WINTHROP  DUDLEY.  "A  Neglected  Cause  of  Retardation," 
Educational  Review,  XL  (1910),  121-31. 

A  theoretical  discussion  of  the  importance  of  large  primary  classes  in  causing 
retardation. 


Il8  THE  FIFTEENTH  YEARBOOK 

SOLDAN,  F.  Louis.  "Age  of  Withdrawal  from  School,"  Annual  Report  of 
Superintendent  of  Public  Schools,  Forty-first  Annual  Report  of  St.  Louis 
Public  Schools,  1895,  pp.  37-49. 

This  study  compares  elimination  in  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  Boston  and 
attempts  to  give  some  of  the  causes. 

SQUIRE,  CARRIE  A.  "Our  Responsibility  for  Retardation,"  Psychological 
Clinic,  IV  (April  15,  1910),  46-53. 

"Late  entrance  seems  to  be  the  largest  factor  in  causing  retardation  among 
our  pupils." 

STRAYER,  GEORGE  D.  "Age  and  Grade  Census  of  Schools  and  Colleges," 
Department  of  the  Interior,  Bureau  of  Education,  1911,  Bulletin  No.  5. 

Synopsis  of  the  Finding  of  the  Vocational  Education  Survey  of  the  City  of  Rich- 
mond by  the  General  Survey  Committee.  New  York:  Published  by  the 
National  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Industrial  Education,  1914. 

THORNDIKE,  E.  L.  "The  Elimination  of  Pupils  from  School,"  Department  of 
the  Interior,  Bureau  of  Education,  1907,  Bulletin  No.  4. 

.    "Repeaters  hi  the  Upper  Grammar  Grades,"  Elementary  School 

Teacher,  X  (1909-10),  409-14. 

Shows  that  poor  scholarship  does  not  necessarily  result  in  elimination. 

TWITMYER,  G.  W.  "Clinical  Studies  of  Retarded  Children,"  Psychological 
Clinic,  I  (1907-8),  97-103. 

Studying  1,487  retarded  children,  Twitmyer  found  that  83  per  cent  showed 
physical  or  mental  defects.  Many  were  improved  by  operations  for  physical 
defects. 

VAN  DENBURG,  J.  K.  Causes  of  the  Elimination  of  Pupils  in  Public  Secondary 
Schools.  New  York:  Published  by  Teachers  College,  1912. 

WAGNER,  ALVIN  E.  "Retardation  and  Elimination  in  the  Schools  of  Mauch 
Chunk  Township,"  Psychological  Clinic,  III  (1909),  164-73. 

WITHER,  LIGHTNER,  "Retardation  through  Neglect  in  Children  of  the  Rich," 
Psychological  Clinic,  I  (1907),  157-74. 

An  interesting  case  laid  to  lack  of  proper  early  training. 

WOODWARD,  CALVIN  M.  "When  and  Why  Pupils  Leave  School,"  United  States 
Bureau  of  Education,  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  for  the 
Year  1899-1900,  II,  1364-74. 

This  writer  gives  poverty  as  one  of  the  main  causes  of  elimination.  He 
rejects  the  explanation  which  puts  the  major  responsibility  on  the  teaching  corps. 

— .     "At  What  Age  Do  Pupils  Withdraw  from  the  Public  Schools?" 
Report  of  Commissioner  of  Education,  1894-95,  II,  1161-70. 


PERSISTENCE  IN  SCHOOL  AND  HOME  CONDITIONS          119 

TRUANCY  AND  DELINQUENCY1 

HALL,  BERT.  "Truancy:  A  Few  Causes  and  a  Few  Cures,"  N.E.A.  Proceed- 
ings, 1909,  pp.  217-22. 

This  study  emphasizes  the  importance  of  home  and  community  environment 
as  causes" of  truancy.  "More  than  80  per  cent  of  truancy  is  the  result  of  indiffer- 
ent or  negligent  parents." 

HOBBS,  W.  W.,  PARSONS,  E.  DUDLEY,  HOLBROOK,  D.  H.,  SHEPHERD,  W.  H. 
"Report  of  the  Survey  Committee  of  the  Schoolmasters'  Club  of  Minne- 
apolis. An  Inquiry  into  the  Causes  of  Student  Delinquency,"  School 
Review,  XX  (1912),  593-612. 

The  committee  found  a  variety  of  bad  home  and  community  conditions 
prevalent.  The  children  who  were  delinquent  were  away  from  home  much  of  the 
time  and  frequently  attended  questionable  amusements. 

HUNTINGTON,  EDWARD  A.  "A  Juvenile  Delinquent,"  Psychological  Clinic, 
I  (1907),  21-24. 

A  case  of  delinquency  plainly  due  to  bad  home  environment. 

RICHMAN,  JULIA.  "What  Share  of  the  Blame  for  the  Increase  in  the  Num- 
bers of  Truants  and  Incorrigibles  Belongs  to  the  School?"  N.E.A.  Pro- 
ceedings, 1909,  pp.  222-32. 

The  writer  says:  "Most  investigators  and  educators  lay  the  heaviest  share 
of  the  blame  to  unfavorable  home  conditions."  She  shows  how  the  school  may 
help  hi  some  cases  by  looking  after  the  neglected  sides  of  the  child's  life. 

Report  of  Board  of  Education,  city  of  Chicago,  1909. 

OTHER  REFERENCES 

KELLICOTT,  WILLIAM  E.  The  Social  Direction  of  Human  Evolution  (New  York : 
D.  Appleton  &  Co.),  p.  115,  Table  II,  "Fertility  in  Pathological  and 
Normal  Stocks." 

PEARSON,  KARL.  The  Groundwork  of  Eugenics.  University  of  London: 
Galton  Laboratory  for  National  Eugenics,  1909. 

"  Fifty  per  cent  of  population  produce  75  per  cent  of  offspring.  Twenty-five 
per  cent  of  population  produce  50  per  cent  of  offspring." 

THORNDIKE,  E.  L.  Mental  and  Social  Measurements.  New  York:  Published 
by  Teachers  College,  1913. 

WARD,  LESTER  F.    Applied  Sociology.    Boston:  Ginn  &  Co.,  1906. 

WHIPPLE,  G.  M.  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests.  2d  Ed.,  Part  I, 
"Simpler  Processes."  Baltimore:  Warwick  &  York,  1914. 

1  A  few  pertinent  references  only  are  given. 


VITA 

The  writer  was  born  at  Maiden,  Illinois,  June  4,  1887.  His  public- 
school  education  was  obtained  in  the  Graham  School  of  Chicago,  Illinois, 
and  in  the  Franklin  Grove  (Illinois)  public  school,  he  having  graduated 
from  the  high  school  of  the  latter  place  in  1904.  His  college  and  graduate 
work  have  been  completed  at  the  Northern  Illinois  State  Normal  School, 
DeKalb  (a  graduate  of  the  class  of  1908),  and  at  the  University  of 
Illinois  (A.B.  1912;  A.M.  1913). 

The  writer  was  &  Scholar  in  Education  at  the  University  of  Illinois 
during  1912-13  and  a  Fellow  in  Education  during  1913-14  and  1914-15. 
He  is  a  member  of  Kappa  Delta  Pi,  Phi  Delta  Kappa,  and  Sigma  Xi. 

The  teaching  experience  of  the  writer  consists  of  one  year  as  a  rural 
teacher,  one  term  as  a  sixth-grade  teacher  in  the  Normal  Training  School 
at  DeKalb,  one  term  as  assistant  critic  in  the  same  school;  two  years  as 
superintendent  and  principal  of  the  Newark  (Illinois)  public  school,  and 
eight  weeks  as  Assistant  in  Education,  summer  session,  University  of 
Illinois,  1914. 

The  following  articles  have  been  published  by  the  writer:  "The 
Influence  of  Family  Incomes  and  Other  Factors  on  High  School  Attend- 
ance," School  and  Home  Education,  February,  1914;  "Parental  Opinions 
as  the  Basis  for  Vocational  Readjustment,"  Illinois  Teacher,  February, 
1915;  and  "Curriculum  Differentiation  and  Administration  in  Typical 
High  Schools,"  Journal  of  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision, 
May,  1915. 


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